31 May 2022<\/p>\n
To<\/u>: The President of the European Commission<\/em><\/p>\n Dr. Ursula von der Leyen<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dear President von der Leyen,<\/p>\n As the European Commission is preparing its opinion on the candidacy status of Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, all living generations of Georgians, including us, representatives of civil society, are filled with hope that the outcome of the process will bring Georgia one step closer to the European Union.<\/p>\n Though three dramatic decades of Georgia\u2019s struggle for democracy and sovereignty, the European path of the country \u2013 a civilizational choice re-affirmed by Georgians in centuries – has consistently remained a matter of the broadest consensus in Georgian society. Popular support for Georgia\u2019s European integration remains well above the ratings of approval for any party, leader, institution, or political agenda since the absolute majority of Georgians share a unifying conviction of being Europeans to the core of their identity and see the destiny of their country in joining the European family of nations. In times of threats and uncertainties of a new world currently in the making, Europe\u2019s promise of peace, democracy, prosperity, and dignity for all citizens \u2013 is the major unifying idea for Georgians across all differences and divides.<\/p>\n For almost 30 years, Georgia\u2019s civil society has facilitated and often led democratic change in the country practically in all areas of the European democratic agenda \u2013 from civil rights advocacy and gender equality to the independence of judiciary and media and combating corruption. In this work, as diverse as it is, we benchmark EU practices and policies as a measure of success and a standard to meet. The help and support of the EC have been instrumental for achieving significant change in various policy areas, and taking every single step towards the EU \u2013 the Association Agreement, DCFTA, or Visa Liberalization Action Plan \u2013 has been strong encouragement. A lot remains to be done for Georgia, and Georgia\u2019s civil society fully commits to carrying on this work to help the country progress towards full EU membership.<\/p>\n As representatives of Georgia\u2019s civil society and grassroots movement \u201dStep Towards Europe,\u201d with this letter, we would like to kindly ask for your support for Georgia\u2019s application for candidacy for EU membership. Granting the candidacy status would be a recognition of the European aspirations of the people of Georgia and a way to accelerate the country\u2019s progress in the policy areas of crucial importance.<\/p>\n We genuinely hope that in June, Georgia, along with Moldova and Ukraine, will earn the status of a candidate country of the European Union. Granting Candidate status would open a new chapter in the history of the three nations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"featured_media":11640,"template":"","websites":[19],"news_categories":[257],"class_list":["post-11641","news_p_type","type-news_p_type","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","websites-eprc","news_categories-siakhle"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n