Most EU Monitors Expected This Week
Most EU observers in the monitoring mission are expected to arrive in Georgia this week, an EU diplomatic source told Civil.Ge on September 22.
Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), Hansjörg Haber, arrived in Tbilisi over the weekend, accompanied by a few members of the mission, to carry out preparatory work for the deployment of at least 200 unarmed observers in the areas adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as is envisaged by the September 8 agreement between the Russian and French presidents.
German diplomat Hansjörg Haber will hold courtesy meetings with Georgian officials on September 22, including with Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze and Parliamentary Chairman Davit Bakradze.
EUMM, which will be headquartered in Tbilisi, has been established for an initial duration of twelve months with a budget of EUR 31 million. The mission will also have field offices. Their location has yet to be determined.
The main task of EUMM will be “to monitor, analyse and report” about the situation on the ground regarding compliance with the six-point plan, including troop withdrawal, freedom of movement and “actions by spoilers.”
EUMM is also tasked with monitoring human rights; civil governance; rule of law; law enforcement structures; security of transport links; energy infrastructure, as well as the political and security aspects of the return of internally displaced persons and refugees.
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