26 April 2019
Georgia marks 20th anniversary of joining Council of Europe
It’s 20 years since Georgia became the first Caucasus country, and the 41st European nation, to join the Council of Europe on 27 April 1999. In the same year the then-Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Zurab Zhvania, expressed his country’s commitment to joining the organisation by stating that “I am Georgian, and therefore I am European”.
Starting in October, Georgia will take over the six month chairmanship of the Council of Europe’s executive body, the Committee of Ministers. It will succeed France, which begins its chairmanship in May.