Georgian government to visit Brussels
European Commission holds high-profile meeting ahead of the signing of association agreement with Georgia.
Georgia’s government will visit Brussels on Wednesday (21 May) for a meeting with the college of European commissioners that is intended in part to review progress in the EU’s growing relationship with Georgia – but, primarily, to demonstrate the EU’s solidarity with Georgia in the midst of the crisis in Ukraine.
Russia’s annexation of Crimea has compounded Georgian fears that Russia could seek to re-absorb Georgia into its sphere of influence and to prevent Georgia from deepening its relations with the West.
The Commission is holding similar meetings this week with the entire Ukrainian government (13 May) and Moldovan government (15 May).
Alexander Rondeli, of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, said “the new generation [of Georgians] understands pretty well that Putin wants to create a stronger Russia at the expense of its neighbours”. Moscow views Georgia and other neighbours as “a necessary supplement to Russia”. At the same time, he said Georgians had been “a bit surprised at how naïve and cynical the West is” in the crisis, with the result that “people are losing faith in the West”.
The crisis has intensified diplomatic contacts between Georgia and the EU. A joint visit in late April by the foreign ministers of France and Germany was merely the highest-profile of many encounters. Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, will be in Tbilisi today (15 May), and José Manuel Barroso, the president of the Commission, plans to attend an investment conference in the Georgian capital next month.
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The Georgian government’s meeting with the Commission will also be an opportunity for Georgia to iron out technicalities ahead of the signing on 27 June of an association agreement and an accompanying trade deal, with the EU.
The governing coalition, Georgian Dream, has been moving quickly to make legislative changes that are a pre-condition for the EU to ease visa requirements for Georgia. Agreement has been reached on the most controversial issue – anti-discrimination legislation that touches on the rights of homosexuals – and the amendments have received two of the necessary three readings in parliament.
The Commission is likely to stress the importance of ensuring that local elections on 15 June meet international standards. Georgian Dream is on course for a third successive victory.