EU-funded Regional Development Program Awards First Grants
Under the Pilot Integrated Regional Development Program, the Government of Georgia, with the support of the European Union, has awarded the first 11 municipalities with grants amounting to GEL 5 million, which will be spent on local infrastructure and business development. These grants are part of the Government’s GEL 220 million Pilot Integrated Regional Development Grant Program, of which GEL 186 million will come from EU funding.
The grant program focuses on the municipalities of four focal regions in Georgia: Kakheti, Imereti, Guria and Racha-Lechkhumi-Kvemo Svaneti.
The program kicked off in June 2020 with the announcement of a grant competition. The winners were announced on July 8 through the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia (MRDI), in the framework of the Government Commission for Regional Development (GCRD). The municipalities of Vani, Sachkhere, Tkibuli, Samtredia, Baghdati, Tsageri, Sagarejo, Telavi, Akhmeta, Ozurgeti and Chokhatauri received funding.
Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia, Maya Tskitishvili, talked about the importance of the newly-established program in the relationship between Georgian and the EU.
“The implementation of such programs is crucially important today. The assistance to be provided by the EU over the next three years is in line with the European standards for regional policy planning and implementation. With this program, our cooperation with the EU is moving to a qualitatively new and important stage, which, I think, also implies the further enhancement and strengthening of the degree of credibility of the EU towards Georgia. The program also introduces the principles of establishing competitive relations between municipalities, which is very important in the process of decentralization and in the emergence and strengthening of new skills at the municipal level,” Tskitishvili said.
Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation to Georgia, Vincent Rey, also commented on the program, highlighting what the EU aims for with its implementation.
“The development of the Georgian regions is a priority for the EU, and with this program, it hopes to ensure that this development is balanced and not just focussed on the main cities of Tbilisi and Batumi. We have worked hard with the government to put the proper structures in place, and are happy to see them in action. We look forward to providing over GEL 186 million through our EU4ITD program to make this initiative a success,” Rey noted.
The appraisal and selection for funding of the municipal projects was carried out by the Regional Consultative Councils (RCC) which comprise municipal mayors and heads of councils, as well as CSOs and business community members as observers.
The development of regional policy in Georgia is an important area of the EU-Georgia cooperation under the Association Agreement. The program follows the European model of regional development and is implemented for the first time among the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries in Georgia.
Approved by the Georgian Government back in 2019, the Pilot Integrated Regional Development Programme will be implemented between 2020 and 2022, and is co-financed through the budget support scheme of the EU.
By Nini Dakhundaridze