Georgian Parliament Voted for Integration with the European Union

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The resolution adopted by the Georgian parliament determines the country's foreign policy for 4 years. Georgia's aspiration to join the EU and NATO was named among key areas. The Georgian parliament adopted a resolution "On Georgia's foreign policy", one of the key directions is the desire to join the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance. This was reported on Friday, December 25, on the of the parliament’s website. "For the Georgian society, the European and Euro-Atlantic choice is a historical choice enshrined in the Constitution of Georgia," Nikoloz Samkharadze, chairman of the parliamentary committee for foreign affairs, is quoted as saying. As specified in the message, the adopted resolution should help in the implementation of the pre-election promise of the party "Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia" (GDG) that by 2024 Georgia will be ready to submit documents for joining the EU. EU allocated 380 million euros to Georgia As reported on December 13, the EU has allocated 1.5 billion lari (about 380 million euros) to Georgia as part of the Team Europe project since March 2020 to help fight the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. "Almost two-thirds of this amount was provided in the form of a grant, and the rest - in the form of a maximum preferential loan," said Karl Hartzell, head of the EU Delegation to Georgia. As Hartzell noted, this is one of the largest aid packages provided by the EU to any country on a per capita basis. This, he said, speaks of strong EU solidarity with Georgia against the backdrop of the current crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Parliamentary elections in Georgia The ruling party GDDG won the parliamentary elections in Georgia in November. The opposition did not recognize the results of the first round and refused to enter the new parliament. Its supporters demanded a new vote and the dismissal of the head of the Central Election Commission, Tamara Zhvania, whom they believe was involved in falsifying the election results. Since then, there have been numerous mass protests in Tbilisi. Georgia is ready to join NATO Earlier, on August 8, on the twelfth anniversary of the start of the five-day war between Russia and Georgia, Tbilisi declared its full readiness to join NATO. "We continue to deepen partnership in our strategic directions - they are NATO, the United States and the European Union. Today Georgia is fully ready to join NATO," then Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said.