Georgia president hails candidate status as 'big step' towards EU future

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili welcomed the decision of European Union leaders to grant Tbilisi a long-awaited formal candidate status as a "very big, serious step" towards a future within the bloc.

At a summit in Brussels on Thursday, European Union leaders agreed to open formal membership negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova -- despite an earlier threat from Hungary to veto the deal – and to grant Tbilisi candidate status. Tbilisi applied for EU membership together with Ukraine and Moldova.