European Parliament Report on Georgia - EU Association
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Wednesday, April 6, 2022
The European Parliament published a new report on Georgia-EU Association. The Association Performance Assessment, prepared at the request of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) by the European Parliament's Research Service (EPRS), addresses a variety of issues.
The report refers to the period between April 2020 and February 2022, with a focus on effectiveness and outcomes. According to the document in 2020-21, the broader context in which the EU-Georgia AA is implemented has deteriorated as a result of international developments, primarily the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict over Nagorny-Karabakh.
According to the report, the rule of law has significantly deteriorated, as evidenced by the detention of opposition leaders, the lack of effective probe into the June 2019/July 2021 violent incidents, and the decision to abolish the State Inspector Service.
“In a context of sharp political polarization, democratic institutions have gradually been hollowed out of their substance and the ruling coalition increasingly concentrates power in its hands, while also restricting space for dissent.”
According to the document, developments in the Georgian judiciary since 2020 were characterized by major setbacks in the implementation of the AA and, cites particularly ‘the hasty and non-transparent appointments of judges, the failure to reform the Prosecutor General appointment, the changes brought to the law on Common Courts.’
“Changes introduced in 2020-21 are not based on either a consensus between the ruling coalition and the opposition or broad civil society participation.”
The report emphasizes that Georgia remains a regional leader in terms of fighting corruption, however, anti-corruption reforms have slowed down in recent years and effective investigation and prosecution of high-level corruption is a major challenge. It also reads that Georgia’s decentralization reform has primarily been driven by the need to promote more efficient management and investment rather than the will to foster effective governance at the local level.
The study also revealed that the situation of the Georgian media has significantly deteriorated - while the media environment is pluralistic, media polarization has increased in parallel with the political crisis. The journalists’ working environment is becoming more challenging due to political interference with media work as well as verbal and physical attacks against journalists.
Civil society is assessed as robust, yet affected by the growing political antagonism in the country and the effectiveness of existing channels for consulting civil society is ‘seriously questioned’.
Georgia was praised for taking significant measures to fight violence against women and improve gender equality at work. The entry into force of the Code on the Rights of the Child is also a major step forward for the protection of children, despite persisting challenges regarding crimes of sexual abuse and exploitation of children. Workers’ rights are expected to improve substantially as a result of the amendments introduced to the Labor Code and the extension of the Labor Inspectorate’s mandate. Discrimination and offenses against sexual minorities remain a major problem.
Since 2020, the report reads that Georgia has continuously fulfilled key EU requirements set forth in the visa-free regime and effectively cooperated with EU agencies and the Member States in fighting criminality. Cooperation in foreign and security policy is also assessed positively; however, the study emphasizes that Georgia refused to join the sanctions introduced against Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022.
Further, the document notes that although Georgia’s economy was hit hard by COVID, the country has continued performing well in approximating its legal framework with EU standards and implementing the Deep and Comprehensive Trade Agreement (DCFTA) related approximation requirements.
The report reads that whereas Georgia is on track in terms of legislative processes, it still faces important challenges in complying with its energy- and environment-related, especially with respect to energy efficiency.
