The seventh meeting of the EU-Georgia Association Council, held on Tuesday, September 6, was called historic in Brussels. This is the first meeting at a new stage in relations between the European Union and Georgia after giving it a "

Tbilisi needs to make more efforts in the field of reforms of the judiciary, the rule of law and freedom of the media in order to successfully move towards the EU, EU High Diplomat Josep Borrell stressed at a joint press conference after a round table with the Georgian delegation.

He also noted that the country should have a national consensus on joining the European Union.. Borrell placed the main responsibility for the implementation of these tasks on the ruling Georgian Dream party..

Among the main topics of discussion between Brussels and Tbilisi are Russia's war against Ukraine, as well as the situation in the separatist regions of Georgia. Borrell stressed the EU's commitment to the territorial integrity of Georgia and promised it special support in the field of cybersecurity and the fight against disinformation.

For his part, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili assured at a press conference that his government is committed to comply with all EU criteria and is fully prepared to work with all political parties and civil society. At the same time, he pointed out that "

He expressed hope for a "

On March 3, Georgia, together with Moldova, following Ukraine, submitted applications for accession to the European Union under an accelerated procedure.. The Georgian government originally planned to apply in 2024, but accelerated the process after a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, Georgia did not become a candidate for EU membership.. On June 23, the EU countries recognized Ukraine and Moldova, but not Georgia, as candidates for EU membership. Regarding Tbilisi, the head of the EU Council, Charles Michel, said that day: "

Georgia was granted the status of " The European Commission put forward a list of 12 criteria for her to move further along the path of European integration.

The EU-Georgia Association Agreement has been in force since June 2014. Brussels submits reports on its implementation every year. In August 2022, he pointed out to Tbilisi the need to continue reforms and shortcomings in the legal sphere..

“We are seeing setbacks in key areas of the rule of law, public administration and human rights,” EU diplomat Josep Borrell said at the time..

Now the official candidates for EU membership are Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro and Turkey. However, for none of these countries, the terms of accession to the EU have not been determined..

Recall, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) of Ukraine proposes to impose international sanctions on the Georgian oligarch, founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzin Ivanishvili, as well as 11 persons close to him. Georgian Dream claims that Kyiv is trying to drag Tbilisi into the war.