Otar Shamugia congratulates Georgia for achieving EU membership

Georgia has been granted the status of a candidate for membership in the European Union. On Wednesday, thousands of people in the capital, Tbilisi, welcomed this historic decision.

The Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Otar Shamugia, congratulated all country citizens and thanked the Georgian government, the international partners and the employees of his ministry for their efforts to achieve this milestone.

“Granting the status of a candidate for a member of the European Union is a historic decision. Our country continues to progress; this is an irreversible process for the full membership of the European family,” Shamugia said in a statement.

He also highlighted the progress made by Georgia in aligning its legislation with the EU standards, especially in the field of environment and agriculture.

“Out of the 27 Environmental Directives/Regulations provided by the Association Agreement, legislative approximation has already been made to 20 legal acts, and there is active work to approximate seven legal acts. 

Within the framework of the agreement on deep and comprehensive free trade area with the European Union, the legislation of Georgia is already close to 130 of the EU’s 200 legal acts,” he said.

The EU leaders unanimously recognized Georgia’s progress and readiness to advance on its European path at the summit in Brussels on December 14. The decision to grant Georgia the candidate status was based on the European Commission’s recommendation on November 1.

Georgia applied for EU membership in March 2022 and has been implementing reforms to meet the criteria for accession. The proper functioning of democratic institutions and reforms related to justice and the rule of law are priorities for Georgia to advance further towards future EU membership.

This joint initiative aims to strengthen the political and economic relations between the EU and six countries in the region: 

• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Belarus
• Georgia
• Moldova
• Ukraine

Georgia’s aspiration to join the EU is shared by its neighbour Moldova, which also received the candidate status on December 14. The two countries celebrated the decision with fireworks and music in their capitals.