President: Georgia got no formal candidate status

Georgia has no formal EU statement that it will become a EU member state, President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili told a joint briefing with the EU Commissar for foreign policy and security Catherine Ashton in Tbilisi yesterday. "Formally, we have already been a candidate for NATO membership but we have no similar status as concerning the EU," he said.

Nevertheless, "EU high-ranking officials lately more and more often state that Georgia will become a member state of the organization," Saakashvili reported.

"This is already a reality, which was hardly imaginable just three years ago," he noted.

Saakashvili said he is an impatient man and earlier than all others would like Georgia to receive the NATO and EU membership. "But this is a laborious process, which is important for us as it gives us the opportunity to implement reforms in the fields of economy and policy to become closer to the two organizations," he said.


/Trend/