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Events
Andrew Light Speaker Tour in Europe May 14, 2013 / Berlin, Germany; Brussels, BelgiumGMF Senior Fellow Andrew Light participated in a speaking tour in Europe to discuss opportunities for transatlantic cooperation on climate and energy policy in the second Obama administration.
In this podcast, GMF Vice President of Programs Ivan Vejvoda discusses last month's historic agreement to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
Anchor Elaine Reyes speaks with Andrew Small, Transatlantic Fellow of the Asia Program for the German Marshall Fund, about Beijing's potential role in brokering peace between Israel and Palestine
Events
Georgia’s NATO aspirations discussed December 01, 2008 / Brussels
On December 1, the eve of a NATO Foreign Ministers summit, GMF and the Institute for Strategic Studies (ISS) of Ljubljana, Slovenia, organized an event in Brussels on Georgia's future with the EU and NATO. Prime Minister Grigol Mgaloblishvili and Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili represented the Republic of Georgia. Robert Cooper, Director General for External and Politico-Military Affairs at the European Council, and Jamie Shea, Director of Policy Planning at the Private Office of the Secretary General of NATO, were on the panel as representatives from the Euroatlantic community, with Ronald Asmus of GMF moderating the discussion.
Prime Minister Grigol Mgaloblishvili began the debate by outlining that after the August war with Russia the main foreign policy goal of his government remains integration of Georgia into the EU and NATO. To achieve this, Georgia will continue to reform and open up its economy, strengthen institutions such as the judiciary, and guarantee an open and democratic society, he said. The public broadcast of political audits and an independent task force assigned with developing a policy for the reform of civil society are concrete examples of the methods used to achieve this opening of Georgian society. The Prime Minister emphasized Georgia's commitment to working closely with the EU and the US in implementing and monitoring these reforms.
Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili answered a number of questions on Georgian foreign policy as well as the Georgian reaction to the proposals in the press about possible compromises on the MAP issue. She emphasized that the important thing for Georgia was that the process move forward and that Georgia get closer to NATO, rather than concern themselves with the label of MAP. The MAP-label for prospective member states is being far too much ‘fetishized' by the international community, added Ronald Asmus, who was one of MAP's designers in 1999. It was and is no guarantee for NATO entry. It means, however, that any aspiring NATO member state has to fulfill certain criteria to show its progress in the military reform process, and in the general democratic and political development process. The Foreign Minister and Jamie Shea both emphasized that there is a mutual understanding between the West and Georgia that Georgia is not yet ready for NATO but that relations between NATO and Georgia were surely improving, and that the commitment to eventual membership would be reaffirmed by NATO's Foreign Ministers.
When asked about Russia, Robert Cooper said that in every discussion between Europe and Russia the Georgian situation is on the table. Yet these bilateral contacts have been greatly strained since the summer. "There were some low-level contacts with Russia, but no NATO-Russia Council following the August war," Jamie Shea said. He added: "These mechanisms are based on a set of values, principles and mutual obligations. NATO wouldn't be NATO anymore if it simply disregarded instances where these obligations are not met."
