“Georgia should receive candidate status, congratulations!,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.

“With regard to Georgia. Here, the College fully supports the genuine aspirations of the overwhelming majority of its citizens to join the European Union. These aspirations need to be better mirrored by the authorities, who should engage more with the opposition and civil society on matters of national interest, and further progress is needed by the government on the 12 priorities identified last year before candidate status was granted.

Now the Commission also acknowledges a number of positive steps. For example, the opposition scrutiny on the parliamentary work has been increased, an action plan for de-oligarchization was adopted, the personalized approach was withdrawn, and the anti-corruption bureau was set up. Therefore, the Commission recommends granting candidate status to Georgia on the understanding that the government takes important reform steps,” she said.

The European Commission (EC) will recommend the European Council to grant candidate status to Georgia, said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, at the briefing jointly held with Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement.

The European Council will make the final decision in December.