There are no longer any doubts about Georgia’s future in Europe, which many generations have struggled for and for which they have dreamed. Georgia has already obtained a European perspective on the route to integration with the European Union. Georgia is firmly a part of Europe, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament said in his speech at a public discussion at the Clingendael Institute.

Speaking about Georgia’s European perspective, Shalva Papuashvili focused on the current processes in the region, political, economic, social, climate, and military changes. According to him, despite these changes, Georgia manages and maintains its foreign-political priorities.

“We must adapt to an ever-changing environment. Political, economic, social, environmental, and military challenges are being brought on by the changes. Examples of this include Russia"s aggressiveness toward Ukraine, the resumption of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and other issues. The security infrastructure of Europe is under a lot of strain. Georgia maintains and handles its foreign-political interests despite the aforementioned changes and turmoil”, - said Shalva Papuashvili.

He dwelt on the progress of Georgia in terms of the implementation of the recommendations of the European Union. According to him, granting the candidate status will be an incentive for other countries in the region and at the same time, it will protect the region from Russia’s geopolitical efforts.

“With tremendous enthusiasm, we started putting the EU’s suggestions into practice. Georgia has come a long way in the last six months, even though the process is not yet over. Strengthening governmental institutions, moving closer to EU law, and fully integrating the nation into Europe are all goals of ours. Giving Georgia EU candidate status will boost its still-developing but rapidly advancing democracy and serve as a powerful motivator for other nations in our area. The situation will also lessen the efforts of those who want us harm, like Russia, which seeks to once more enclose our region in an iron curtain of geopolitics”, - Shalva Papuashvili clarified.