Council of Europe Launches Next 4 Year Action Plan for Georgia

TBILISI - The Council of Europe's Deputy Secretary General Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni and Bulgaria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Daniel Mitov visited Tbilisi Monday to launch a four-year 2016-2019 Action Plan for Georgia.

During their visit European officials met with local government representatives to discuss the core issues of the plan and their implementation.

The four-year plan, first adopted in March by the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers, aims to boost human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Georgia.

Following the launch ceremony, Mitov and his Georgian counterpart, Mikheil Janelidze, held a joint press conference with Battaini-Dragoni in attendance. The two said the new plan is more ambitious than its 2013-2015 predecessor.

“We have strong support from our strategic partner - the European Union and its member states. We are now continuing to meet to further discuss assistance for the effective implementation of the plan,” Janelidze said.

“We made it clear to our Georgian partners that they should continue working towards fighting organized crime, money laundering and corruption,” said Mitov

Battaini-Dragoni called for continued communication between Georgians, South Ossetians and Abkhazians saying, “We are concerned that in South Ossetia and Abkhazia there is no guarantee of fundamental rights, especially rights of property, education and free movement. These are important issues, on which the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers have noted this."

The European delegation also met with Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili to discuss ongoing democracy, human rights and rule of law reforms as well as the situation in Georgia’s breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions.

By Tamar Svanidze
Edited by Nicholas Waller