High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the European Commission, writes about his recent visit to Georgia.

“Last week, I visited Georgia for the first time as HR/VP to tell the Georgian leaders and citizens that Georgia belongs to the European family. However, to obtain the status of a candidate country, Georgia needs to make significant progress on depolarisation of the political life, de-oligarchisation, justice reform, electoral reform and media pluralism. In Georgia, I met President Salomé Zurabishvili, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili, as well as Parliamentarians and civil society representatives.

There is no doubt for the EU that Georgia belongs to the European family. Visiting Georgia, you can feel the overwhelming European aspiration of the Georgian people. I have seen more European flags in the street of Tbilisi than in most European capitals. More than 80% of the Georgians want their country to become a part of the European Union. It is for sure an impressive figure and we value fully this commitment. During my stay, all my interlocutors made a plea for Georgia to receive candidate status to the EU shortly. It is a call that we have heard over the past months consistently from the authorities, from the opposition and from the civil society representatives”, - writes Josep Borrell.