Georgia to submit application to become EU candidate country on Thurs

TBILISI. March 2 (Interfax) - The political council of the Georgian Dream ruling party has made a decision following consultations with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili to submit an application for the status of a European Union candidate country immediately, Georgian Dream chairman Irakli Kobakhidze said at a briefing on Wednesday.

"The government of Georgia is already preparing this application which will be officially handed over to the entities of the European Union on behalf of the Georgian leadership in Brussels tomorrow. We are calling on the EU entities to consider our application urgently and grant Georgia this status," Kobakhidze said.

The application is being submitted "on the basis of the political context and the new reality," he said.