On October 28, Pawel Herczynski, the European Union's Ambassador to Georgia, and Shalva Papuashvili, Georgia's Parliament Speaker, met to go through the implementation of the European Commission's 12 recommendations in further detail, the Press Office of the Georgian Parliament reported.
The parties discussed the expectations and viewpoints of the European Union on Georgia's advancement in this area. In their discussion, Shalva Papuashvili and Pawel Herczynski also spoke about the importance of the next high-level visit from the European Commission to Georgia.
Shalva Papuashvili promised that the pre-written plan would complete the work on the suggestions. The EU ambassador promised that the group would keep helping Georgia implement the suggestions.
As reported by Caucasus Watch, on September 20, Pawel Herczynski stated that the key to implementing the Council of the European Union's twelve recommendations for Georgia to become a candidate is an inclusive process. Additionally, he called the claims that foreign forces were attempting to provoke conflict in Georgia rubbish. "Although the government has a very ambitious plan to implement 12 conditions, it is for everyone across the political lines to build bridges and to work constructively to make progress in those 12 areas," he added. In this regard, the Ambassador pointed out that while the opposition must continue to be cooperative, the government must ensure inclusion. He emphasized that cooperation between the administration and the opposition is necessary to ensure progress. According to Ambassador Herczynski, the process should engage all interested parties. The government should consider the views of the OSCE/ODIHR, an election monitor, and the CoE/Venice Commission, an anti-corruption watchdog. In his words, this chance should be taken advantage of. "Therefore, Georgians should join together to create the bridges and transcend all divisions," he added. The Ambassador said, "It would be a really big error if this opportunity by the European Council, offered by the leaders of the European Union, to declare that Georgia has a European viewpoint and that Georgia is part of the European family, is wasted."
