New Civil Society Project to Promote EU Integration, Participation
A new project called “United for Georgia’s European way” was launched on 9 December to promote Georgia’s EU integration through broad public participation and cooperation. The project is a joint initiative of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), the Open Society Foundation, the Independent Journalists House (IJH), and the Economic Policy and Research Center (EPRC), and is co-funded by the European Union.
The project will run for 33 months with a total budget of around €3 million. It aims to cover all Georgian regions and has several lines of impact: strengthening democracy and freedom of expression; empowering civil society, youth, media, and business; and providing legal support to local activists. The project also aims to initiate high-quality research and public dialogue, and to raise awareness of the EU and EU integration issues in Georgian society and the international community.
The project activities envisage elaboration of shadow and monitoring reports on national and EU policies; expert discussions and debates with the participation of European think tanks and research institutes; high-level conference on Georgia’s EU integration; connecting different stakeholders; coalition building and network creation; establishment of regional civil councils for EU integration and of media coalition for EU integration, providing financial support to the third parties and CSOs with a special focus on grassroots organizations; EU youth camps for the youth from the regions of Georgia, media communication with the public, including content preparation with the support of creating industry, and others.
The launch of the project was welcomed by the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Georgia, Peter Fischer, who, in his speech at the launch event, stressed that Germany wanted to see Georgia in the European Union and spoke of the importance of reforms and values on the path to EU membership.
Speaking about reforms, he said that whenever he is asked what Georgia needs to do to be successful on the path to EU membership, he always points to the recommendations and priorities put forward by the European Commission: “It’s all there in black and white,” he said. Speaking about the importance of values, he recalled the current disagreement between Hungary and the EU, noting that Hungary wants the release of funds suspended by the EU. He stressed that this is a lesson for Georgia to “choose its friends wisely.”
Also Read:
- 09/12/2023 – “Your Voice to EU” March Unfurls the Largest EU Flag Ever
- 30/10/2023 – President Zurabishvili: If EU Rejects Georgian Bid, It will be a Great Victory for Russia
- 31/05/2022 – Civil Society Asks EU Chief to Back Georgia’s Bid
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
