The expansion process must be merit-based. The achievements and progress of each candidate country must be evaluated fairly, consistently, and based on a predictable approach. Speaker of the Georgian Parliament said at the first (founding) conference of the Speakers of Parliaments of EU candidate countries.

As he noted, the conditions for joining the EU must be clear, achieved progress must be properly recognized, and interim targets should not change according to political goals.

"However, unfortunately, from time to time, individual EU member states, or what is even stranger, Brussels itself, introduce new and unexpected prerequisites. Such unexpected demands artificially hinder the progress of candidate countries. These prerequisites often resemble political blackmail rather than a constructive attitude. It is clear that they stem from EU electoral cycles, domestic political narratives, or disputes related to history and identity. Not a single candidate country can cope with such asymmetric power of an EU member state, knowing that any member country can block the candidate country`s progress based on subjective reasons. Therefore, we must stand by each other in overcoming these unjustified obstacles", - said Shalva Papuashvili.