EC Deputy Director-General Names Georgia Exemplary Country Against COVID-19

The European Commission arranged an online conference on the EU’s support for the Eastern Partnership countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The online conference also enquired about media assistance and the Commissions effort to combat misinformation concerning the virus.

Deputy Director-General for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission, Katarina Mathernova remarked that there is quite a variance among the six countries in the framework of COVID-19 pandemic situation. The Deputy Director-General underscored that Georgia has effectively coped with the problems surfacing from the pandemic. According to her, Georgia briefly responded to the situation, so the situation in the country is not as bad.

“The situation concerning the Coronavirus among the six neighboring countries varies, compared with western Europe. We also see that it varies among the member states as well. For example, Georgia reacted speedily with regard to stopping the spread. Therefore, the medical situation in the country is not as bad. The confirmed cases in the country show fairly a stable situation. Although, economic hits taken by the country are of concern. On the other hand, we have a country like Belarus, where they didn’t act as hastily, and the infection spread quite rapidly,” stated Mathernova.     

The EC Deputy Director-General also added that Commission presented aid packages to three of the neighboring countries, to Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. “Particularly, Ukraine received 1.2 billion, Georgia 150 million, and Moldova 100 million. These packages are related to the International Monetary Fund’s emergency mechanism,” added Mathernova.      

By Beka Aleksishvili