History never gives same chance twice, Commissioner Varhelyi says
History never gives same chance twice, Commissioner Varhelyi says

European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér Varhelyi said he could obviously see the signs of progress and a growing economy in Georgia. At the joint press point with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Olivér Varhelyi said he was glad to return to Georgia.

According to the Commissioner, he walked through Tbilisi and noticed that “the economy is developing, there is progress in Georgia.”

He stressed that the country had “shown us very clearly that joining the European Union is a strong and solid goal of Georgia, and long-term stability and peace are needed for this.”

“We heard this message, and I came to Georgia not to say that we heard this message but to say that we are ready to fulfil this request,” he said.

The country will need to put in a lot of effort in the next few weeks and months to demonstrate its readiness to become a candidate. In Varhelyi’s words, the entire country must work together to achieve the EC-proposed twelve-point priorities.

“We see that the vast majority of the population of Georgia supports the European Union integration. This is a very strong mandate not only for the government but for the entire political elite. Today we came with a very clear purpose – we want to help you prepare Georgia to join the European Union. We want to move forward together in this direction. We have a lot of work to do in the coming weeks and months.

Georgia will have to make a big effort to show that it is ready to become a candidate country, but I must emphasize that this will only happen if the whole country, all of Georgia and all Georgians inside and outside the country work for this goal. I am sure that history never gives the same chance twice, so we should embrace this opportunity and make it a reality. To do this, we need to implement the 12 recommendations, and we need to show a good example in this direction. I am glad to see steps taken in this direction,” said Olivér Varhelyi.

European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér Varhelyi started his official 2-day visit on Tuesday. The EU Commissioner will meet President Salome Zourabichvili and legislative authorities to review the country’s progress and next steps toward EU membership.