MEP Marina Kaljurand, the Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus, sees the EUCO’s decision as an “important wake-up call,” claiming “the door to the EU is not closed for Georgia.”

In her statement, MEP Kaljurand welcomes “the crucial fact that EU Leaders have recognised Georgia’s European perspective, while underlining that pre-conditions must be met if it wants to move forward in deepening its relations with the EU.”

She believes accession to the EU is, for all countries, “the result of a merit-based process, conditional on strict criteria.”

“In these dire times marked by Russia’s brutal war of aggression and repeated attempts to destabilise our Eastern Neighbourhood, EU leaders responded with a clear message of support the freely-chosen European path of the people of Ukraine and Moldova.

These aspirations are equally shared by the people of Georgia – the past days’ massive rallies to display support for their country’s EU membership bid testify to it.

Unfortunately, despite the EU institutions’ repeated warnings, the Georgian authorities and political leaders from all sides fell short of these aspirations. There is no denying that Georgia, which was once considered the frontrunner among our associated Eastern partners and which has harmonised its legislation with the EU acquis in many domains, has slowed down when it comes to certain areas such as the rule of Law, the independence of the judiciary, media freedom, or oligarchisation and the polarisation of the media and political Landscapes,” she stated.

I welcome yesterday’s decision by the European Council on the EU 🇪🇺membership applications of Georgia 🇬🇪, the Republic of Moldova 🇲🇩 and Ukraine 🇺🇦 – three countries that are particularly dear to me. pic.twitter.com/GZQtaQ6wTp

— Marina Kaljurand MEP (@MarinaKaljurand) June 24, 2022