EU assists in Georgia’s immigration policy

The European Union (EU) supports Georgia to improve its border and migration management policies.

A senior customs official from Latvia shared her expertise in matters of Rules of Origin with her Georgian counterparts, as part of ongoing support for the Revenue Service of Georgia (RS) under the EU-funded project "Enhanced Cooperation for Secure Borders and Safe Migration".

The EU believed following the signing of a historic free trade deal with the EU on June 27, 2014, Georgia required assistance from EU Member States in dealing with "new and unfamiliar procedures”.

Senior Customs Officer from the National Customs Board of Latvia Maruta Znotina carried out a training course for 20 RS officers in conjunction with a senior officer from the RS. This collaboration in training preparation was suggested by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to help consolidate the new training material within the existing RS curriculum.

Maka Khvedelidze of the RS International Relations Department welcomed the training: "We are grateful to IOM for supporting the RS in this important matter and particularly for identifying an expert with the specific knowledge that is required."

The EU-funded project "Enhanced Cooperation for Secure Borders and Safe Migration", which is implemented by IOM aims to provide tailored capacity building activities for the Georgian authorities in enhancing border and migration management policies and institutional approaches in line with EU standards.

The project started on 15 December 2013 and will continue until June 2017.

The overall objective of this project is to enhance the capacities of Georgian authorities in the area of integrated border management and migration in line with relevant EU-Georgia Agreements and action plans, in particular the Visa Liberalization Action Plan. (Agenda.ge)