“This is the biggest Global Security Forum (GLOBSEC) ever. I would say that the most important forum ever because of Ukraine’s war against the Russian invasion. GLOBSEC is the most dynamic Central European think-tank. It is the constructive voice of Central Europe in Brussels. Because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, GLOBSEC has now become the voice of Ukraine inside the European Union. We are playing this role very actively. That is the dominating issue of the forum this year. Candidate status for Ukraine as fast as possible is a priority. Of course, Georgia and Moldova are very closely in that group. Why is Ukraine so urgent? Because Zelensky is right when he says that before the ceasefire negotiations even start, it has to be clear where Ukraine wants to be geopolitically and where it will be. This can only be clearly said through giving Ukraine candidate status. Georgia has been attacked by Russia several times. Moldova is also partially occupied by Russian forces. But the situation is not as dramatic at the moment as in Ukraine. I think Ukraine should be a priority,” said GLOBSEC Vice President adding that EU members are not unified and do not have a consensus on this issue.

Asked about Georgia’s prospects, the Vice President stressed the progress made by the country but pointed to shortcomings in democracy and the rule of law.

“First of all, Georgia has made tremendous progress towards adopting the legal status of the European Union, but second, in recent years, there have been shortcomings in Georgian democracy, in rule of law. Also, I would say, may be understandable, but nevertheless, the reaction of the Georgian government to Russia’s war and aggression against Ukraine was not OK. Ukrainians are very unhappy about this. I do not know how Georgia and Ukraine will solve this issue at the government level, but I would strongly advise some serious talks between the two governments,” he added.