Foreign Minister: EU Should Offer Georgia Specific Programme within Eastern Partnership

Tbilisi, November 7 (MTI) – Hungary will propose developing a specific programme tailored to Georgia’s needs within the EU’s Eastern Partnership programme, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said after talks in Tbilisi on Friday.

During his visit, Szijjarto held talks with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, First Deputy State Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration David Dondua, First Deputy Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tamar Beruchashvili and Speaker of Parliament Davit Usupashvili.

Szijjarto also met President Giorgi Margvelashvili.

The minister told MTI over the phone that he had arrived in Georgia’s capital to make it clear that both the EU and Hungary have a vested interest in stability in the Caucasus region. To this effect, the prospect of EU accession should be left open to the region’s countries, he said.

Before the year goes out, Hungary will ratify the EU-Georgia association agreement signed on June 27. Further, it supports that the European Union should conclude a no-visa agreement with Georgia during its next summit meeting with the Eastern Partnership countries, Szijjarto said.

He said close cooperation with the countries involved in the Eastern Partnership could give new impetus to the European Union and help it overcome the current challenges.

The Eastern Partnership programme was initiated by Poland and Sweden in 2008 to help progress to democracy in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus.