On March 3, 2022, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili signed Georgia’s application for EU membership. The next stage of the process involves the EU considering granting Georgia the status of a candidate country for EU membership. It is welcome that the entire political spectrum supported Georgia’s application for EU membership.

The undersigned organizations welcome the submission of the application for EU membership and believe that this step is an expression of the unwavering desire and historic choice of Georgian citizens to integrate into the European Union. We hope that this step will be followed by serious efforts from the Government and the entire political spectrum to accelerate Georgia’s EU membership process, and in the first stage, to obtain candidate status.

Today, when the Russian Federation’s military aggression in Ukraine has changed the global political agenda, new opportunities have emerged for the consolidation of the European continent. In these circumstances, it is more important than ever to clearly confirm Georgia's commitment to European values.

Everyone knows that on the path of Georgia's integration into the European Union, it is necessary to fulfill the Copenhagen criteria, which, along with the economic component, primarily implies a high level of adherence to democratic standards (the so-called political criteria). In this regard, the independent judiciary and the rule of law, respect for human rights, protection of minority rights, freedom of the media, prevention of politicized justice, and implementation of other important reforms on the path of building democratic institutions are especially important.

The roadmap for these reforms is the EU Association Agenda and the obligations undertaken under the Association Agreement. In this regard, the commitments to strengthen democratic institutions agreed upon between the Georgian Government and opposition parties in the document “A way ahead for Georgia” prepared on April 19, 2021, mediated by European Council President Charles Michel, is also worth noting.

We call on and ask the Government and the entire political spectrum to reaffirm the importance of the commitments arising from these important documents and their readiness to continue to take concrete, effective and timely steps to fulfill them.

Signatory organizations:

Georgia’s Reforms Associates (GRASS)

Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF)

Democratic Research Institute (DRI)

Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI)

Transparency International - Georgia

Governance Monitoring Center (GMC)

Institute for Democracy and Safe Development (IDSD)

Europe-Georgia Institute (EGI)

Human Rights Center (HRC)

International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED)

Atlantic Council of Georgia

Sapari

Media Development Foundation (MDF)

Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (GFSIS)

Center for Investigative Journalism and Economic Analysis

World Experience for Georgia (WEG)

Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC)

Rights Georgia

Georgian Institute for Strategic Studies (GISS)

Civic IDEA

Caucasus Open Space

Center for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (GCRT)

Social Justice Center

Liberal Academy

Civil Movement - Shame

Europe Foundation

Georgian Strategic Analysis Center (GSAC)