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Georgia and Moldova have received the same “green light” from the European Union concerning their membership applications as Ukraine, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said on Friday, following EU leaders’ decision to invite the European Commission to submit opinions on the applications.

Papuashvili said the EU had “intensively” considered the applications submitted by Georgia and Moldova over the last days.

“We welcome that the process has started. In particular, on the basis of the relevant procedures, the EU will examine the readiness of these three countries to be granted candidate status. Both the EU and the applicant countries will take a more focused approach to this issue,” Papuashvili noted.

“The Association Agreement remains the framework. The agreement outlines all the necessary goals that Georgia needs to achieve, including in terms of legislative approximation,” the Georgian Parliament Speaker added.

The Committee on European Integration of the Parliament of Georgia on Friday supported the draft resolution on the country’s accession to the European Union.