Georgia is ahead of Moldova and Ukraine in meeting the technical criteria for rapprochement with the European Union, says Radio Liberty journalist Rikard Jozviak, who has read the draft reports of the European Commission. They will be published in January of this year.
According to the journalist, last year Brussels considered the applications of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia in record time, due to which the European Commission focused only on the political criteria for membership. Currently, Brussels will assess the compliance of the legislation of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia with EU legislation in 32 areas, which the EU calls "chapters". This is necessary for the start of negotiations on EU membership.
"Georgia will obviously get the best grades, which is the result of many years of work by pro-European and more reform-oriented governments. In many, especially in the fields of economy and finance, Georgia is rated as "averagely prepared". However, Georgia lags behind in the legal sphere, intellectual property and agriculture," Yozvyak writes in an article published on the website of the Georgian service of Radio Liberty.
According to the journalist, the European Commission will publish an annual report on enlargement in October. It will describe in detail the progress of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia on the way to the EU and provide specific recommendations.
"By the end of the year, EU members can already decide whether Moldova and Ukraine will be able to start accession negotiations and whether Georgia will receive the status of a candidate country," Jozviak notes.