More work needs to be done for Georgia’s EU membership: Dutch prime minister

By Merve Berker and Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) - More work needs to be done for Georgia to become an EU member state as the European perspective and ambitions are clearly noted regarding the issue, the Dutch prime minister said Thursday.

The union has to do “a lot of work” for Moldova, Ukraine and “particularly Georgia” to get candidate status, Mark Rutte told reporters during a doorstep talk ahead of a European Council leaders' summit.

“Enough work has been done for Moldova and Ukraine,” he said, noting that “somewhat more work needs to be done for Georgia.”

He said the union’s approach, expectations, and ambitions are “clearly noted,” and there has to be bilateral work between the EU and Georgia.

Pointing out that Amsterdam will “follow the commission recommendation” on the issue, Rutte said negotiations will start after enough progress has been made.

Underlining that the Netherlands wants the Ukrainian war to stop, he said: "But my worry was that that might lead to a sort of rush towards candidate status for Ukraine."

From June 23 - 24, the European Council will discuss wider Europe, Ukraine, EU membership applications from Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, economic issues, the Conference on the Future of Europe and external relations.

More than 4,634 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the war began Feb. 24.

More than 14 million people have been forced to flee their homes, with over 8 million moving to neighboring countries, according to UN data.​​​​​​​