I met the Prime Minister [Gharibashvili] in Brussels last week and that was the message - you know what needs to be done, so do it! - European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, stated at a press conference in Stockholm.

"My sense from today's conversation, as well as previous conversations, for example in December, is that there is now a genuine engagement from the [EU] Council and from the member states. And expansion is not only back on the agenda, but it is in the top three topics, the leader of discussions. So for today, if anyone wants to join the EU, now is the moment, so seize it, seize the opportunity. I was lucky enough to meet the Prime Minister [Gharibashvili] in Brussels last week and that was the message - you know what needs to be done, so do it! Do it, since this is a unique opportunity, everyone should make the most of it. We are ready to help you reach this goal, but the criteria must be met by everyone. So my recommendation to the [Georgian] government is to speed up the work in all directions so that we can have a report on Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova in October. We are ready when the job is done," Varhelyi said.

Varhelyi calls on Georgia to use the opportunity.

"I understand very well the mood of the public in Georgia, but my message will be that the European perspective for Georgia is already a very innovative decision by the European Council. At least, it was not so obvious. And I think this signal is clear and strong, and it is still valid, so use it. Use it. Don't look at others, look at what you can do. And if everything is done, the country will have the opportunity to take the next step," said the European Commissioner.

*The quotes in the article have been double-translated from Georgian and wordings may be inaccurate.