Closing conference of EU project ‘Support to the Georgian Competition Agency’

Participants at the closing event of the EU project 'Support to the Georgian Competition Agency' summarized the results of the three-year EU aid for Competition sphere development in Georgia.

The Chairman of the Competition Agency of Georgia – Irakli Lekvinadze, the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development – Genadi Arveladze, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs – Aleksandre Khvtisiashvili and the Head of the Cooperation of the European Union Delegation to Georgia - Vincent Rey, delivered speeches at the event.

To enhance competition enforcement in Georgia EU experts, including Lithuanian Competition Council officials, have worked intensively with Georgia's Competition Agency and other stakeholders.

In particular, to put Georgian legal framework closer to European standards, they drafted proposals for changes to Georgia's Competition Law and held workshops for numerous target groups.

The project organized more than 40 training courses for raising capacities of the GCA staff, specific workshops for sector regulators and over 30 awareness-raising conferences for representatives of both public and private sector. Different guidelines were elaborated in the project framework. The project contributed to strengthening of GCA collaboration with international and local partners.

"We welcome draft amendments to the Competition Law that will bring it closer to EU standards for the benefit of business and citizens. We look forward to timely adoption by parliament" said Vincent Rey, the Cooperation of the European Union Delegation to Georgia.

According to the Chairman of the Competition Agency of Georgia more than 100 activities have been implemented in the framework of the project to improve competition enforcement in the country.

“We would like to thank everyone involved in the project for the support and collaboration. Today, the main challenges for the GCA is the need for efficient comprehensive legislation and high level of trust from undertakings, which would be defined by the results of cases accumulated over the years,” noted the chairman of the agency.

The Team Leader of the project Aurelio Antonio La Torre and invited experts spoke about activities implemented in the project framework and presented Glossary of Competition Terms and the Handbook on Judicial Review. Up to 100 guests representing state authorities, the business sector, academy and civil society attended the closing ceremony of the Project.

The project “Support to the Competition Agency of Georgia” is part of the complementary measures of the broader EU-funded program "Support to EU-Georgia Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) and Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)."

The project aimed to support the enforcement capacity of the Georgian Competition Agency, to enhance its interaction with sector regulators, and to promote competition culture within the Georgian society in line with the DCFTA and the EU best practices.