Georgia Receives Billions worth Support from the EU
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Friday, November 23
Georgia will receive billions worth support from the EU to provide improvements for the economy, culture and other challenging directions.
The decision was announced late on 21 October, after the first, new format meeting between Georgian and EU top officials and commissioners in Brussels.
The major outcomes of the meeting include Euro3.4 billion for transport investment projects, Euro100 million of additional access to finance in local currency for SMEs, support for additional academic and scientific exchanges, and a new programme to increase the security of Georgian citizens, the European Commission says.
Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn also signed two financing agreements with the Georgian Foreign Minister, David Zalkaliani.
The first, worth Euro49 million, will further enhance economic and business development in Georgia, while the other, worth nearly Euro48 million, will support skills development in Georgia to match labor market needs, the European Commission has reported.
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze stated that the support came because of the “continued efforts of the Georgian government and the people.”
"Today's event evidence is that Georgia is the most successful country on its way to EU integration, however, every citizen of our country should feel that benefits offered by visa-liberalization need to be used with the greatest responsibility,” Bakhtadze said.
He stated that active work has been performed since the enforcement of the visa-free travel and this process with EU partners continues to greatly mitigate the risks and avoid certain individuals from abusing this truly historic decision of the EU.
"General trend in many states is negative. Gradually more European states recognize Georgia as a safe country, which is a prerequisite for a systemic resolution of the issue. Relevant authorities are actively working on a daily basis. It is an ongoing process. Initially, the number of such people was increased and now we have a declining trend in many countries, however, we are far from believing that risks exist with the extension of the visa-free travel,” Bakhtadze said.
President of the European Commission Jean Claude Juncker stated that Georgia is a country built on the courage and ambition of its people.
“Our fates and destinies have long been intertwined. Your unilateral commitment to deepen integration with the EU is a major step forward. The more you reform, the more we will support,” he said.
The new format of meeting with the EU, which EU has only with Georgia, aims to further enhances Georgia-EU ties.
The meetings of 20-21 November were held in three thematic groups- The first group of meetings concerned economic, energy, transport and agricultural issues; the second group of meetings -and culture and the third group of meetings-security issues with a special emphasis on cybersecurity.
