Maka Botchorishvili, Chairperson of the European Integration Committee of the Georgian Parliament, discussed the European Union’s enlargement policy at the 20th anniversary meeting of the Conference of the Parliamentary Committees on European Integration/Affairs of the States Participating in the Stabilisation and Association Process in South-East Europe.

The event discussed the EU enlargement policy, achievements and challenges faced by candidate countries, impact of the “geopolitical environment” and regional cooperation matters.

“The vast majority of Georgian citizens support Georgia"s integration into the EU. Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia last month, and more than 53 percent of Georgian voters made it clear that they entrust their European future to the ruling party”, - said Maka Botchorishvili.

She also mentioned the European Commission’s latest enlargement report, which says that Georgia had made progress in 25 of 35 enlargement chapters, “surpassing” some other candidate countries in “fundamental rights”. The Chairperson also talked about security challenges facing Georgia, the “geopolitical importance” of the country in EU enlargement policy, etc.

The Conference also discussed regional cooperation and connectivity, with the Committee Chair noting Georgia’s role in the Middle Corridor, a logistics route connecting Central Asia and China to Europe via the South Caucasus.

The COSAP Parliamentary Conference has been used as a platform on EU integration for Western Balkan countries since 2005. This year, Georgia hosted the 1st inter-parliamentary conference on EU integration issues with the countries in Tbilisi, marking its 2nd participation in the conference.