Georgia needs to speed up reforms in areas such as the rule of law, the independence of justice and media freedom before it can be granted the status of a European Union membership candidate, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday.
"These areas are crucial when it comes to European values and principles, and we count on Georgia's effort to address the existing shortcomings," Borrell told reporters after meeting Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in Brussels to discuss his country's EU membership bid.
