World
Georgia’s EU membership by 2030 is achievable, PM Kobakhidze says
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told Euronews, in an exclusive interview, that Brussels needs to be more flexible in EU membership talks.
In his first interview after the South Caucasus country hit pause on its EU accession talks, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told Euronews that the ball was in Brussels’ court, and that the bloc needed to be more flexible in its approach to new members.
Kobakhidze said Georgia was facing “some significant challenges with the European bureaucracy” but emphasised that he was still “very optimistic” that his country would obtain EU membership by 2030.
“(We) will be consistent in following this goal and then hopeful that the approach to Georgia will be more fair in the next coming years,” he told Euronews.
In November, Kobakhidze announced that Georgia would pause discussions on its bid to join the EU until 2028 due to what the prime minister described then as “blackmail and manipulation” from some of the bloc’s politicians.
The EU gave Georgia candidate status in December 2023, but halted its membership application process indefinitely and cut financial support last June after the passage of a “foreign influence” law that the bloc considers to be Russian-inspired and authoritarian.
Kobakhidze told Euronews that Tbilisi’s policies were not to blame for the fact that there are currently not “healthy relations” between Georgia and the EU.
“It’s because of the European bureaucracy and the policies towards Georgia,” he said. “So, if that policy changes, everything will be in a better shape.”
Kobakhidze was reappointed in November as prime minister by the ruling Georgian Dream party, whose disputed victory in October’s parliamentary election has sparked massive demonstrations and led to an opposition boycott of parliament.
Opposition forces — including Georgia’s former president Salome Zourabichvili — have condemned the results as a “total falsification” of the vote. The European Parliament in November adopted a resolution condemning the vote and calling for new elections to be held under international supervision.
The ruling party, which has been in power since 2012, has denied any wrongdoing.
Realism with Russia relations
Meanwhile, protesters and critics have accused Georgian Dream — established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia and is widely considered to be the country’s de facto leader — of turning away from the West and towards Moscow.
Kobakhidze told Euronews that Georgia had “no space for restoring diplomatic relations (with Russia) because of the occupation of our two historic regions”.
Moscow recognised the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states in 2008 after Russian troops repelled a Georgian attempt to retake South Ossetia in a brief war. The two breakaway territories make up 20% of Georgia’s territory.
“This territorial integrity is recognised by the international community and of course we have to defend our national interests in this respect, but our vision is peaceful,” Kobakhidze said, adding that a “non-peaceful solution is absolutely impossible”.
“We would like to restore our territorial integrity — there’s no alternative — and we are hopeful at some point this will be realistic. Let’s see,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT“But we run with a pragmatic policy and that’s the key content of our policy towards Russia,” Kobakhidze added. “We are keeping trade and economic relations with Russia and that’s how we are going to run it for now.”
When asked about Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the prospect of a peace agreement, Kobakhidze said there was “no alternative” to a ceasefire.
Ukraine is “suffering a lot”, the prime minister said, citing the loss of life, damage to infrastructure and Russia’s occupation of large swathes of Ukrainian territory.
“The international community should be fully concentrated on promoting this ceasefire agreement and peace,” Kobakhidze said. “That’s the key for improving the overall situation in the region and the world.”
ADVERTISEMENTWatch the entire interview on Euronews’ The Europe Conversation this week.
Iranians mourning the country’s supreme leader condemned U.S. strikes that Washington called retaliation for Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. At a tightly controlled state funeral in Mashhad — one of Iran’s most conservative cities, where opponents of the government were unlikely to be found in the crowd — mourners voiced defiance and called for revenge.
World
Beloved musicians among victims in deadly Bahamas plane crash; aviation authority grounds flights
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A devastating double-aviation crisis in the Bahamas, including a deadly North Andros plane crash and a separate aircraft fire on Friday, prompted the government to suspend flight operations for a local airline and launch a federal safety probe.
Shortly after 1 p.m. local time Friday, a Cessna 402 aircraft with Bahamian registration departed Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau bound for San Andros Airport.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said the plane “encountered difficulties” and crashed into bushes prior to landing.
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Authorities said 10 people were killed in a Bahamas plane crash on Friday. (Our News Bahamas via AP)
First responders, including the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Airport Authority and emergency medical personnel, rushed to the dense brush where the aircraft went down.
The Bahamas Musicians and Entertainers Union confirmed in a statement Saturday that 10 people died in the crash, including prominent members of the “The Pond Band” and a local DJ, whose artistry the union said “touched so many lives and helped to enrich the cultural fabric of The Bahamas.”
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said a sole survivor was pulled from the wreckage.
“Ann and I are praying for the families who are now facing unbearable grief,” Davis wrote in a statement on X. “We are also praying for the survivor, whose recovery and care will remain in our thoughts.”
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The identities of those killed in the crash have not yet been released.
While the AAIA’s preliminary reports initially indicated seven people were on board, officials are still establishing the facts of the flight manifest.
Just hours before the fatal crash in North Andros, a Flamingo Air flight en route to Mayaguana was forced to turn back to Nassau after the pilot reported a concern, according to the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Aviation (MoET).
After the aircraft landed and passengers safely deplaned, the plane caught fire on the runway.
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FILE – The Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate following two aircraft incidents Friday. (iStock)
Following the two back-to-back safety incidents, the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas (CAAB) temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate, according to MoET officials.
“The suspension is a precautionary safety measure and should not be treated as an adverse compliance action against Flamingo Air,” the agency wrote in a statement.
FILE – The plane crashed in North Andros on Friday after taking off from Lynden Pindling International Airport. (Melissa Alcena/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Investigators from the AAIA and inspectors from the CAAB remain at the scene in North Andros as they work to determine what caused the Cessna 402 tragedy.
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Flamingo Air did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Published on •Updated
Moldova’s pro-European President Maia Sandu nominated businessman Vasile Tofan on Saturday as the country’s next prime minister to replace Alexandru Munteanu, who resigned earlier this month over differences with the ruling majority.
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In a video posted to social media, Sandu said Tofan’s primary responsibility, after his candidacy is approved by the country’s parliament, would be to move the country further towards its path of “integration” into the European Union.
He should also “strengthen the resilience of state institutions and society”, and “revive the economy”, added Sandu.
The Moldovan businessman now has two weeks to secure parliamentary backing, a prospect he hopes to achieve after submitting his government programme and his ministerial cabinet nominations.
Tofan had been mentioned as a possible prime minister last year even before the appointment of Munteanu.
Igor Grosu, who heads Sandu’s Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) which won the last parliamentary elections in September, announced on Friday that he had selected him as his candidate to replace the outgoing premier.
He said Tofan shared “the same objectives” as him and PAS, specifying that “EU accession in the years to come, institutional reform and economic growth”, were among the biggest points of agreement.
The nominee for prime minister, who graduated Harvard Business School and turns 44 on Sunday, has a degree in public management from the Netherlands and is a managing partner at Horizon Capital, a private equity firm with assets primarily in Ukraine and Moldova.
He has also chaired the board of directors of Moldova’s Purcari winery, considered the crown jewel of the country’s winemaking sector.
Munteanu, another businessman who like Sandu previously worked at the World Bank, had been chosen to boost the economy and bring it closer to the EU, but turbulence with PAS saw him vacate his post less than a year into holding office.
He resigned on 3 July after less than eight months, stating that he could no longer carry out his mandate “according to (his) principles and (his) convictions”.
The EU last month officially launched a first round of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. Both countries became official EU candidate countries on 23 June 2022.
Additional sources • AFP
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