Hungary

In an interview with the media on the sidelines of the European Political Community (EPC) conference in Granada on October 6, Viktor Orban, Hungary's Prime Minister, expressed his unwavering support for Georgia's EU candidature.

Orban said Georgia had done a great job fulfilling the EU criteria, and it was unfair for the country not to become a candidate. He said the reason for this lack of invitation last year was that leaders are selfish and don't want to share the financial resources that Georgia requires. But Orban said, "We need you here anyway because of Georgia's strategic position."

Viktor Orban referred to himself as a great promoter of Georgia's EU membership. "The common governmental meeting between Georgia and Hungary will take place in Tbilisi the following week, and all the [Hungarian] ministers will be there," he announced.

European Commission 

Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, said her meeting with the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit in Granada had reviewed Georgia's progress on the European integration path.

Von der Leyen noted that a lot has been done, and a lot is still to be done to implement necessary reforms for the integration process. "The main message is 'take the opportunity now, give a push forward to the process,'" the EU official said.

Croatia

Andrej Plenković, the Croatian Prime Minister, pledged his government's support for Georgia's European Union membership candidate status and noted the European Commission's forthcoming report in early November, which will evaluate Tbilisi's efforts to meet the candidacy conditions, would be a central element in the process.

The official claimed the current imprisonment of Georgia's former President Mikheil Saakashvili would not have any significant effect on Tbilisi's EU integration and highlighted the bloc's member states would use the European Commission's report in their discussions on whether to support Tbilisi's candidacy in December.