2019-03-06
Mamuka Bakhtadze
Prime Minister of Georgia
I would like to thank High Representative Mogherini and Commissioner Hahn for warm welcome and a very productive Association Council meeting today.
In the past few months, this is already the second time when a high-level delegation from Georgia is visiting Brussels. In January, Georgia's newly elected President had her first, very successful visit to Brussels. This upward trend confirms the dynamics and intensity of our relations. We had indeed a very fruitful meeting today, and we were able to discuss the great progress we have made on a wide range of issues on our cooperation agenda. We discussed the implementation of the Association Agreement, including DCFTA.
Georgia continues to overhaul its legislative and institutional system to bring it in line with EU norms and standards. The first high-level meeting between the Government of Georgia and the European Commission, held last November, brought new dynamics to our cooperation and speeded up the association process. It also provided an excellent format to discuss new ideas and initiatives. We agreed to closely follow up on outcomes in every other format of our dialogue.
With all the positive topics we have touched today, we discussed the ongoing occupation of Georgian territories by the Russian Federation, and the importance of peaceful conflict-resolution and our response to all the grave human rights violations that are happening in the occupied territories, including brutal killings of our citizens. We discussed a new peace initiative, A Step to a Better Future, and the significance of joint efforts for its implementation. We strongly believe in people-to-people relations, and through such initiatives we aim to support our citizens and to improve their livelihoods.
We also discussed the peaceful resolution of Russia-Georgia conflict and the occupation. We value the EU's firm support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and contribution through maintaining the Monitoring Mission in Georgia, as well as the mediation effort within the Geneva International Discussions. The support through non-recognition and engagement policy are of crucial importance for maintaining peace and security in the region.
We also discussed he progress in the overarching justice reform in Georgia, as well as steps to be taken to ensure the smooth functioning of the visa-free regime. This important milestone has been a powerful incentive on Georgia's European path, and we are committed to using it in good faith.
Our trade relations with the EU are still increasing. Our businesses are greatly benefiting from the opportunities offered by DCFTA. At the meeting, we discussed concrete steps aimed at promoting Georgian products on EU market and enhancing our economic cooperation. At the meeting, we also presented our EU Integration Roadmap, which is of unilateral nature, and which consolidates our reforms and entire toolbox of EU-Georgia cooperation to accelerate and advance Georgia's European integration.
We also had a very productive exchange on sectoral cooperation. We value EU support and engagement in modernizing Georgia's educational system, particularly vocational education. Quality education is essential in building human capital. Achieving sustainable economic growth through investing in modern education and human capital development is the main priority of our Government. We also discussed the issues of connectivity, and how capacities will increase with the development and construction of projects like East-West Highway, railway modernization, Anaklia Deep Sea Port, construction of cargo terminals in Georgian airports, and many others.
We welcome the EU's efforts in attracting substantial investments in Georgia's infrastructural development through the TEN-T investment plan, which will further enhance our country's potential as a regional hub. We also paid attention to the need and importance of greater connectivity across the Black Sea. This will promote and increase EU trade with the Central Asiana and South Caucasian countries, which will provide better access for European companies in the region as well.
We also welcome the dynamics in our security cooperation. As a reliable ally, we are committed to building an excellent record of the Georgia-EU strategic security dialogue. We are grateful for the EU's presence in Georgia and your contribution to our security and stability. On our part, we also stand committed to contributing to peace and security in Europe and beyond. Last year, we extended our participation in the EU missions in the Central African Republic and Mali. We promised ourselves to be a role model in the regions when it comes to moving closer to Europe, and we will do our best to deliver on our promises despite external and internal challenges.
With Georgia, Europe has an important success story. We are working hard to prove that democracy promotion, institution building, civil empowerment, and reforms really do work. We promise to continue on this path, and we hope that we will be fully welcomed to contribute to the European family. Georgia and our people have full commitment on the path toward the EU. It is a value-based choice toward returning to our civilizational choice, the European family.
I would like to thank again great friends of Georgia, High Representative Mogherini and Commissioner Hahn, for their personal dedication to Georgia's success case. I am sure that, with joint efforts, we will succeed in achieving our shared goals in the foreseeable future. Thank you.
Federica Mogherini
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Thank you, Mister Prime Minister. It is always a pleasure to welcome you and you delegation here in Brussels. Only a few months ago, you were here for the meeting of the Georgian Government and the members of the European Commission, and just before that we both had the honor to speak at the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair where Georgia was Guest of Honor. Today, we held a very good meeting, the 5th meeting of the Association Council. The frequency with which we meet, as well as the intensity and richness of our discussions, illustrate-if you allow me to speak on behalf of Georgia-we both consider it to be a very important, mutually beneficial friendship and partnership.
Georgia has made great steps on the implementation of our Association Agreement. This provides the basis for our political association and economic integration. He EU is fully committed to exploring the full potential of our partnership, including the export and growth offered by DCFTA. The EU granted Georgian citizens short-stay visa-free travel to the Schengen Area almost two years ago. Since then, more than 300,000 Georgian citizens have benefitted from this and traveled to EU countries. This is one of the tangible results we have achieved together. We also spoke today about ways in which we can address some problems related to this. But, overall, making it sustainable over time. As I mentioned, this is one of the main achievements we have managed to put in place for our citizens.
We spoke today of the outcome of the presidential elections last November. I had the honor of welcoming here in Brussels the new President, Madam President, who chose Brussels as the destination of her first international visit. And this sent a very clear message to us. I expressed to her then-and to you, Mister Prime Minister, today-the importance of reconciliation and dialogue following a polarizing electoral campaign.
I was equally glad to hear about your commitment to addressing shortcomings indicated in the OSCE/ODIHR reports in view of the 2020 parliamentary elections.
We also discussed the importance of continuing the good work already done in the area of rule of law and for Georgia further to strengthen its judicial institutions in a transparent manner. We continue to fully support your territorial integrity. This is actually what we started with in our meeting today. We support your territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders, and we are committed to peace, stability, and peaceful conflict-resolution, which will benefit all Georgians and the wider region. We constantly work for peace through our Special Representative for South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia, our co-chairmanship of the Geneva International Discussions, and our EU Monitoring Mission that is the only presence on the ground. We just recently extended its mandate. We support your peace initiative A Step to a Better Future. We discussed it at length. I appreciate your leadership on this, and you know you can count on us in this respect.
Finally, we have somehow already started to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership. Let me thank you once again for your commitment to this common project. The Batumi Conference in July will be an important moment dedicated to the achievements and future of the Eastern Partnership. Thank you for hosting that and for being here today. We have plenty of achievements we can be rightly proud of but, as we discussed today, there is still work to do. There is potential in the relationship to make most out of it and more benefits to bring to both the EU and Georgian citizens,
Thank you very much, Mister Prime Minister, for this good meeting and your good work.
Johannes Hahn
European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations
Thank you very much, Mister Prime Minister! Indeed, we had many high-level meetings in the past couple of months, and I am sure we will have similar ones in the next couple of months. But today we focused and agreed on the importance of inclusive political environment, the need to promote free and independent media, and respect for the law and judicial independence. The EU will continue to support Georgia also in these areas, especially with regard to Supreme Court judges' selection criteria, process, and appointment. We count that it will be inclusive and transparent, as it is key for the entire judicial system in Georgia and successful judicial reform. We also looked together at the progress made in the implementation of our Association Agreement, and some of the remaining challenges. The implementation of the agreed actions of the high-level meeting between the Commission and the Georgian Government, which focused on economy rates and connectivity, education, research, innovation, and justice, as well as internal security, will further advance our cooperation and deliver more tangible benefits for Georgian and European citizens. The approximation to EU standards and regulations is in line with Georgia to become more and more an actor in the international market. Thanks to our assistance, and the External Investment Plan, we have all the instruments necessary to implement these actions. To give a concrete example, we are currently working on our roadmap to export more Georgian products and services to the European market, to follow up on the recent success stories, such as honey or Black Sea fish.
The opening of the first European school in Tbilisi last September is another real result of our excellent cooperation, and the Prime Minister and I had an opportunity to meet certified young students who had a unique chance to receive high-level education inspired by European and international values and teaching standards. We are just in the process of asking for applications for next schoolyear. The interest is even higher than it was last year. On the other hand, I am not really surprised. They can tell you that this very successful example has already triggered interest in other Eastern European countries to have similar European schools. In this respect, congratulations to Georgia! But also understand the responsibility to be further determined and devoted to this very important experiment. So I am looking forward to visiting Georgia in September in order to inaugurate together with the Prime Minister, and also all the other responsible people, the 2nd and next phase of our project, the European School. And I am pretty sure that not only this will be a success story but many others, too, provided that we continue to be committed, and I am pretty sure that this is the case. Thank you very much!
Public Broadcaster of Georgia
Firstly, I would like to ask a question about Russia's factor because every time Georgia advances on the path to integration, the Russian Federation, as a rule, starts so-called borderizaton, kidnappings, and the like. Recently, we heard Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin's statement that Georgia must make a choice between having good relations with its neighbors in the region, meaning Russia in this case, and continuing its path toward Europe. In this context, what can be achieved through cooperation in terms of fully averting and minimizing risks to ensure peace and stability in the country and the wider region?
Federica Mogherini: I think I was clear enough on the commitment and engagement of the EU, continued and confirmed, and reconfirmed, commitment and engagement for the full respect of the territorial integrity of Georgia. As the Prime Minister mentioned, we are engaged in several tracks of work, including on the ground with our Monitoring Mission, as I mentioned, the only presence on the ground, also including the diplomatic level with our role in the Geneva mechanism. And we do raise this issue with Russian authorities at different levels, every time we have an opportunity to do so. Let me say very clearly-and, as the Prime Minister mentioned-today we were very interested in details of the implementation of this initiative that we fully support. We believe it can be an important step toward improving the conditions of citizens and offering avenues for people-to-people contacts, and potentially reconciliation. Let me state very clearly something I have stated several times, and this does not only relate to Georgia but to all our policy on the Eastern Partnership. The approach of the EU is never an approach of spheres of influence. We do not believe that any country in the world should put in the conditions of choosing one side or the other, because being friends, being partners, being closer to the EU does not imply being less friends or less close to any other country in the world. Being friends and partners with the EU is fully compatible with being friends and partners with any other country in the world. The point is whether this other country is attractive as a friend or partner, but that is not the problem of the EU.
Imedi TV
My first question is to you, Madam High representative. The Georgian Prime Minister spoke about the roadmap and concrete plans to be implemented by the Georgian Government. The Georgian Government says that it wants more, beyond the Association Agreement. What is your opinion of the roadmap? How do you see Georgia's further integration? Most of Georgia's citizens say that they want to join this organization as soon as possible. Mister Prime Minister, what are your expectations? What is that minimum you are expecting to achieve in the next few years in light of the challenges facing the organization itself? We have repeatedly spoken of the importance of visa-free travel to Georgian citizens. Mister Commissioner, we know that some EU member states are concerned, and that the Georgian Government plans to toughen the regulations. Georgian citizens want to know that there is nothing threatening visa-free travel at this point. What would you recommend to retain the achievement of being able to travel visa-free to EU member states? Thank you.
Federica Mogherini: We were glad to receive from eth Prime Minister and the Government delegation the roadmap. We have discussed some ideas on a way forward. We already have a way forward that is very consistent and very substantial, which is, first of all, the implementation of our Association Agreement, on which good steps have been taken but still the work continues. It is 20 deliverables, or 20/20, that were decided during the Eastern Partnership Summit, and that will continue to be the objective of our common work in the remaining period of our mandate, and following that. We also discussed during the visit of the Government of Georgia to Brussels on the occasion of the meeting with the members of the European Commission some concrete steps on which we can concretely work together. So this constitutes a very ambitious, substantial agenda. My concern would not so much be of keeping high levels of ambitions for the future, but rather keeping respective focus on the implementation of the roadmap and the very substantial agenda that we already have in front of us. And I believe that this will continue to bring positive results for the citizens of Georgia and the EU.
Johannes Hahn: A short additional comment. Our image is of a belt of prosperity around Europe, which is in the interest of Europe. For that, we are trying to engage as much as possible with our neighbors, of course, depending on the interests, opportunities, and possibilities. Georgia has clearly stated that they are very much interested to approach as much as possible to the EU. Therefore, now we have the Association Agreement and DCFTA, which allow us really to work on economic development, with better living conditions for citizens, and I think this is for a short- and medium-term perspective the most important thing. So if this gap can be narrowed down, I think then we can look into next steps. This is exactly the way forward. Let's focus on the achievable. Let's focus on the next step. Let's look on the concrete levels, which are finally in the interests of citizens. In that respect, visa liberalization was one of the concrete achievements. I do not see any particular risks, provided that the Georgian Government and society are addressing some not even deficiencies, but unfounded asylum applications. It is important, and here we count on the media to inform your citizens that any kind of asylum-seeking in the EU will not work out, because we consider you a safe country. Visa liberalization also means that we look at your country from this perspective. I was told that, since visa liberalization, more than 600,000 people have used this opportunity, and only a few thousand have applied unfounded for asylum, which is in some countries still too much. This is why today we have jointly addressed this issue, so please use your opportunities and power to convey the messages to your citizens that any kind of asylum-seeking in the EU is without any chances.
Mamuka Bakhtadze: With your permission, I will answer in Georgian. Before I address the issue of the roadmap, let me comment on the question by the Public Broadcaster and point out that the choice of the Georgian nation is for the Georgian people to decide, and nobody else. It is our civilizational choice. As for the roadmap, we today we had an opportunity to present to our friends a document we have prepared, which involves continuing integration into European structures. Georgia is the leader of the Eastern Partnership. When the implementation of the eastern Partnership Project started ten years ago, it was truly a milestone event. Georgia has been successful in fulfilling this task, but we believe that there is an opportunity to continue integration with focus on concrete sectors. Since today we started consultations and discussions in detail, I can tell you-though it may be a bit too early-that this roadmap will help us consolidate democracy in Georgia, advance our success to a higher level, overcome the economic challenges currently facing Georgia, and successfully finalize the overarching reforms that apply to all directions, including structural reforms. I would like to single out the sector of education. I believe that this document will help provide the public with a concrete criterion for measuring Georgia's development and progress toward Europe.
Thank you very much!