The Taxpayers Union of Georgia addressed Carl Hartzell, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, on behalf of the business community in the process of granting EU candidate status to Georgia. BM.GE offers the letter of the Taxpayers Union unchanged:
"To His Excellency Carl Hartzell,
We are addressing you on behalf of the Taxpayers Union of Georgia and the business community in Georgia.
Today, at this historic and critical moment for Georgia and the entire world, Georgia's application to join the European Union is yet another important step on the path of the country's European integration and the best opportunity for Georgia to join and find a worthy place in the European family.
Our country and its peoples have throughout Georgia's lengthy history always aspired to European culture and civilisation. This has been, and continues to be, the historic choice of our nation that has no alternatives. The Georgian nation has always sought to join the system of values upon which European civilisation has been based. During the many centuries of fighting for this idea, Georgia, as one of the oldest Christian states, has made many sacrifices and to date still continues to tackle some of the most difficult foreign and domestic challenges.
It is worth noting that during the last years important steps have been made for deepening cooperation and partnership between the EU and Georgia in a number of directions including the Association Agreement, visa-free travel, as well as highly important agreements in the realms of politics, security, economics, as well as social and cultural directions.
We, as the taxpayers and representatives of the business community in Georgia, pay particular attention to the DCFTA between the EU and Georgia that grants us an opportunity to export our products to one of the largest markets in the world, and gradually to achieve a full economic integration in the European space. This of course is the only way to ensure the modernisation of our country and its sustainable and irreversible development.
We would like to ask you to support Georgia, within the capacity of your mandate, to be granted the status of a Candidate for the Membership of the European Union and to take all the necessary steps for Georgia to be granted a faster membership mechanism. This also entails ensuring Georgia's permanent engagement in various programmes and projects that exist under the aegis of the EU, as well as Georgia's fullest possible integration into the European Economic Area.
We believe that despite certain problems faced by our country, now is the crucial turning point when this important and vital decision ought to be made for Georgia. We strongly believe that Georgia is an inseparable part of Europe with its history, culture and worldview. Now it is time for the EU to act", - the letter reads.
