Dear fellow Citizens of Georgia, 

Congratulations on the positive recommendation issued by the European Commission!

It is indeed symbolic that today, on November 8, the birthday of Ilia Chavchavadze, we have gathered at the monument of Akaki [Tsereteli] and Ilia [Chavchavadze] to discuss the path that Ilia has set for our future.

Our European friends have always heard the voice of the Georgian people and have consistently recognized our desire and aspiration to become part of the European family. The European Commission has ackowledged our unwavering, collective struggle for a European future and has recommended that Georgia be granted the status of a candidate country for EU membership.

Today, [while announcing the decision] the President of the European Commission stated: "We fully support the European aspiration of Georgia, the European aspiration of the citizens of Georgia, these aspirations should really be taken into account by the authorities. They should start cooperating with the opposition and civil society organizations, and of course, they should focus on the 12 recommendations”.

Our common national objective, which is for Georgia to join the European Union, transcends all political and other differences. This goal unites our entire society, encompassing every citizen of our country. This [unity] is what the European Union anticipates from us. Today, we must unite our voices for our future and reach out to the leaders of the 27 EU member states. The voice of the Georgian people will play a decisive role when the final decision on granting Georgia candidate status is made in December.

We now have a new task ahead of us - from today until the final decision in December - to ensure that the strong will and voice of our Georgian people are once again heard by our dedicated and steadfast European friends, the member states of the European Union.