Georgia scores high in EU Integration Index

The EU released the Euro Integration Index of 2014 for the Eastern Partnership states. The index reveals Georgia’s best achievements among the six states of the partnership from January 2013 to January 2014.

Georgia takes the initial positions with regard to the deep and sustainable democratic field, it especially concerns elections and human rights’ issues.

Georgia’s business environment is still highly praised, as well as its low taxes, advancement in terms of large-scale privatization, and exemplary corporation management.

The report also highlights the free media, progress in the judiciary system, and the country’s successful transformation to a parliamentary system.

It should be underscored that the report values Georgia’s visa liberation aspirations, especially prior to the EU’s Riga Summit in May.

On October 31, 2014, the European Commission confirmed that Georgia met all the demands of the first phase of the visa liberation process.

Georgia, which received the visa liberalization action plan two-year later than Ukraine, has managed to launch the second phase of the liberalization process together with Ukraine at the end of 2014.

The second phase includes practical implementation of the legislation adopted in the course of the first phase.

Georgia has also managed to conduct all its elections in a free and transparent environment.

Meanwhile, the opposition United National Movement claims that the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration is no longer the priority of the current government, and demands the dismissal of the current government for its poor domestic and foreign policies.

If Georgia has really managed to adhere to the demands of the EU, and has successfully met tens of recommendations, the EU should also reveal tangible and not only encouraging messages to Georgia and the rest of the Eastern Partnership states.

It’s obvious that much is dependent on political aspects, but the lingering of Georgia’s NATO and EU integration will eventually cause disappointment among the public, and also create problems for the current Georgian government.

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is an initiative of the European Union governing its relationship with the post-Soviet states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, and is intended to provide a venue for discussion, trade, economic strategy, travel agreements, and other issues between the EU and its eastern neighbors.