We stood firmly and deservedly won - this historic victory belongs to you, our invincible, unbroken, proud and freedom-loving Georgian people, said the Prime Minister of Georgia in his speech at the event on Freedom Square marking the obtaining of the EU candidate status.

“Welcome, my beloved people, my dear friends, my sisters and brothers, first of all, I want to thank you for coming. Congratulations on being granted candidate status!

It is a great honor for me to address you today. Congratulations on this truly historic event, this historic decision, and congratulations on this historic victory.

This historic victory belongs to you - our invincible, unbroken, proud and freedom-loving Georgian people.

We fought, we worked hard and we won together. We, the Government and the people deservedly won the status of a candidate for the European Union. We deserved this victory.

We worked and we fought, on behalf of the Georgian people, on your behalf, for our country and people, and we won this victory together.

Yes, we did not stand on one leg and we did not stand on our knees, but we stood firm and deservedly won.

This path was not easy. We went through a lot of trials, encountered many difficulties on this road, but we walked this road with dignity and determination and came to where we are today. We won together, together we defeated both the internal and external enemies of our country, as well as the opposing forces that fought against our country being granted candidate status.

Also, we avoided war and trouble. We kept the peace, protected our people and our country. We strengthened the sovereignty and independence of our country. December 14 and today will go down in the history of Georgia as the day of celebration of the well-deserved victory of the proud and honorable Georgian nation. From today, Georgia became a European country”, - said Irakli Garibashvili.