On July 16, the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia said the government received 11 times more support than the Georgian civil sector, based on the official figures of financial support to the Georgian government for 2019-2024. “According to the latest analysis of the European Commission’s data, the EU funds received by Georgian ministries and other state institutions in 2019-2024 amount to 517 million euros, while the amount allocated to civil society organizations is 46.1 million euros,” – notes the Delegation.
The Delegation emphasizes that the 46.1 million euros allocated to the civil sector were used to finance 170 civil society organizations throughout Georgia to implement 47 projects:
- Human rights and gender equality: €8.6 million;
- Democratic Engagement and Independent Media: €8 million;
- Economic development and vocational training: €7.9 million;
- Support for Security Sector Reform: €4.9 million;
- Culture and creative industries: €4.6 million;
- Confidence building for conflict resolution: €4 million;
- Decentralisation and rural development: €3.9 million;
- Environment and climate: €2 million;
- Support for public administration reform: €1.2 million;
- Legal and judicial system: €1 million.
Of the funds allocated to CSOs, more than two-thirds were intended to “help Georgian citizens and ensure access to services in areas such as support for vulnerable groups, vocational training, entrepreneurship, social services, youth engagement and community development, culture, and implementation of environmental protection measures.” The remaining one-third was earmarked for CSOs “that monitor, promote, and cooperate with government agencies on issues such as human rights, adoption of EU standards, gender equality, and decentralization.”
As for the biggest beneficiaries of state agencies and ministries that received funding in 2019-2024, they are:
- Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure/Local Self-Government – €111.55 million;
- Ministry of Finance – €101.40 million;
- Ministry of Defense – €62.75 million;
- Ministry of the Environment and Agriculture and its agencies – €57 million;
- Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development – €5 million;
- Ministry of Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Protection and agencies – €25.07 million;
- Governmental Commission for Migration – €19 million;
- Ministry of Education, Science and Youth – €12.85 million;
- Ministry of the Interior – €10.5 million;
- State Administration – €4 million;
- The Parliament of Georgia – €4.8 million.
Due to the increasing anti-Western rhetoric of the ruling Georgian Dream party and the adoption of the Foreign Agents Law, which targets civil society organizations that receive foreign funding, the EU Delegation in Georgia has been actively promoting and raising awareness of the EU’s support for Georgia’s development to counter the misinformation and disinformation.
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