I want to state once again that Georgia has a rightful place in Europe – Georgia deserves EU candidate status, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili addressed the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Budapest, Hungary.

As PM noted, Georgia expects a far-sighted and fair decision from Europe regarding EU candidate status adding that this “will be a well-deserved recognition of the joint efforts of our people and the Government”.

“It is the ideal of freedom that has driven Georgia for centuries in its quest to become a full member of the European family of nations – Europe, which is founded on Christian values. As a result of considerable reforms undertaken by our Government, we are closer to that goal today than ever before.

We have made successful efforts in ensuring the rule of law and democracy, economic progress and social justice. Development of state and strengthening of public institutions rightly deserve the recognition of impartial and objective professionals throughout the world. Studies by respected international organizations confirm this.

According to the Rule of Law Index 2022 by the World Justice Project, Georgia ranks first in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. We are ahead of many NATO and EU countries on the World Bank Governance Index. We are the leader in the region according to the International Transparency Corruption Perception Index. We are ahead of 11 EU countries on the Heritage Foundation’s Economic Freedom Index. Georgia is ranked #1 out of 120 countries in global ranking of State Budget Transparency by International Budget Partnerships’ 2021 Open Budget Survey.

Visa liberalization, the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the European Union are the achievements of our Government’s hard work, and, most recently, the European Perspective granted by the European Union. Here, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank again Prime Minister Orban for recognizing these efforts and for his continued support,” the PM stated.