The delegation of the European Integration Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, consisting of Maka Bochorishvili, Viktor Sanikidze and Giorgi Khakhubia, participated in the 20th anniversary conference of the Parliamentary Committees on European Integration of the States Participating in the Stabilization and Association Process of Southeast Europe (COSAP), which was held in Belgrade, Serbia. The press office of the Parliament disseminates information about this.

As stated in the published information, together with the representatives of the European integration committees of the Western Balkan countries, the chairpersons of the European Affairs Committees of Hungary (as the EU chairman country) and Poland (the future EU chairman country), the chairman of the Serbian National Assembly, the Minister of European integration and other invited guests took part in the conference.

Within the framework of the conference, the participants discussed the EU enlargement policy, the achievements and challenges of the candidate countries, the influence of the geopolitical environment and issues related to regional cooperation.

In her speech, Maka Bochorishvili talked about the progress achieved by Georgia in various directions in the process of associating with the European Union and the challenges facing the country.

"Georgia became a candidate country for EU membership last December. The vast majority of Georgian citizens support Georgia's integration into the European Union. Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia last week, and more than 53 percent of Georgian voters made it clear that they entrust their European future to the ruling party. Last week, the European Commission published its enlargement report.

"Georgia has shown different levels of progress in 25 directions from the 35 chapters of the expansion, and despite many accusations and speculations, Georgia is ahead of some candidate countries in the issue of fundamental rights," said Maka Bochorishvili.

The Chairman of the European Integration Committee also spoke about disinformation campaigns, which create false perceptions about Georgia and have a negative impact on the European integration process.

"We cannot ignore the massive disinformation campaigns related to Georgia, which often overshadow all positive developments and create very wrong ideas about Georgia. We need to realize how dangerous such an approach is, because we are talking about a country that is facing huge security challenges, and maintaining stability in the country is vital for our future development," said Maka Bochorishvili.

She emphasized the security challenges facing the country, the geopolitical importance of Georgia in the context of EU enlargement policy and the need to maintain security and stability in the region.

"When we talk about European integration as a merit-based process, this principle should not be applied selectively. Georgia, as a candidate country, should be given the opportunity to start the process of negotiations with the European Union and make the path to joining the European Union irreversible," said Maka Bochorishvili.

Discussions within the conference also touched on regional cooperation and connectivity issues. During the discussion, Maka Bochorishvili spoke about the role of Georgia and the importance of the Middle Corridor in terms of connecting Europe and Asia.

The COSAP Parliamentary Conference has been operating since 2005 as a common platform for cooperation on EU integration issues for the countries of the Western Balkans. This year, by holding the first inter-parliamentary conference of Georgia and the Western Balkan countries in Tbilisi on EU integration issues, Georgia laid the foundation for a new format of consultations between the candidate countries, and as a result, the Georgian parliamentary delegation is participating in the COSAP parliamentary conference for the second time at the invitation of the host country.