Bulgarian parliament backs Georgia's EU candidate status

Bulgaria's National Assembly on October 13 voted unanimously by 133 in favour of adopting a declaration in support of Georgia's Euro-Atlantic path and granting it an EU candidate country status. The draft declaration was moved by 10 MPs of GERB-UDF, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria. 

The declaration unconditionally supports the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders, Bulgarian news agency BTA reports.

"With a view to granting Georgia EU candidate country status as soon as possible, tangible progress in implementing the European Commission's June 2022 recommendations is encouraged, and a convincing convergence with EU Common Foreign and Security Policy positions is encouraged. [The National Assembly] congratulates Georgia on its reform efforts and expresses its readiness to provide all support on the country's European and Euro-Atlantic path, including the adoption of the necessary legislative amendments, implementation of EU law and capacity building," the document reads.

"As close peoples linked by centuries of friendship, [the National Assembly] expresses its full solidarity with the aspirations of Georgian society to achieve a common European and Euro-Atlantic future," the declaration says.