“The United States have been a strong supporter of Georgia joining the EU, and we are very supportive that you get candidate status. We will celebrate with you in December when this happens. This is a very difficult process and it will take all Georgians to work together to show member states that Georgia truly is committed to the hardwork that is required to be eligible for EU membership including candidate status”, stated Kelly Degnan US Ambassador.
She said that these visa designations are mandatory under United States Law, once they have enough credible evidence of involvement with corrupt acts. This is an opportunity for Georgian authorities to show their commitment to fight corruption and establish an independent, impartial justice system here.
“Georgia has done some very good work on judicial reform over the past few years, but in the last four we have seen a lack of will to implement meaningful reforms which would truly transform the judiciary into an independently run judiciary. There are five Venice Commission reports that recommend over and over again the steps Georgia can take to create the space needed for judges to function independently and impartially in the judiciary. Georgia is fortunate to be home to many professional judges. They want to do what they do without interference from politicians or business people, and I believe that is what they deserve. This is what we recommend. The European Union recommends this. The Venice Commission also recommends this. All that’s missing is the political will to implement these important reforms. We will celebrate with Georgia when the decision is made in December about the candidate status, and we’ll support you as you work hard over the next few months,” Degnan said.
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