“I sincerely hope that within the next 5 years of the newly elected EU leadership, a big wave of enlargement will happen,” EU Ambassador to Georgia Paweł Herczyński told reporters at the opening of the international conference in Tbilisi.

Paweł Herczyński said he hoped Georgia could be a part of the next big EU enlargement.

“Today we have a very important event focusing on the EU enlargement. I am really glad that several think tankers, experts, and scientists from different enlargement countries have come to Tbilisi for the next big wave of enlargement. As you know 10 countries are candidates for EU membership. Georgia is one of them. Every country has its challenges. The process is ongoing.

The EU has just decided on the next leadership. So we have clarity about the next big bosses. For sure, the next leadership will start with a lot of ambition. Enlargement is one of the key challenges facing the European Union and I sincerely hope that within the next 5 years, the newly elected leadership, a big wave of enlargement will happen.

In the case of Georgia, it is still unclear if it will be a part of this big wave of enlargement. I sincerely hope that this will be the case and that after the elections in October, we will restart work to catch up so that Georgia can be a part of the next big EU enlargement,” he said.

Tbilisi hosts a 2-day conference “EU Enlargement: A geopolitical necessity and the next steps for the EU Candidate States.”