DOCSLIB.ORG

DEEPENING EU-GEORGIAN RELATIONS Made by Georgia and the Challenges Posed by Their Implementation

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
DEEPENING EU-GEORGIAN RELATIONS Made by Georgia and the Challenges Posed by Their Implementation EMERSON & KOVZIRIDZE & EMERSON The signing of the Association Agreement and DCFTA between Georgia and the European Union in 2014 was a strategic political act to deepen the realisation of Georgia’s ‘European choice’. Of all the EU’s eastern neighbours, Georgia has distinguished itself by pushing ahead in the years since the Rose Revolution of 2003 with the most radical economic liberalisation and reform agenda. It has notably DEEPENING succeeded in reducing corruption and establishing a highly favourable business climate. The Association Agreement and DCFTA thus build on a most promising base. The purpose of this Handbook is to make the legal content of the Association EU-GEORGIAN RELATIONS Agreement clearly comprehensible. It covers all the significant political and economic chapters of the Agreement, and in each case explains the meaning of the commitments DEEPENING EU-GEORGIAN RELATIONS RELATIONS EU-GEORGIAN DEEPENING made by Georgia and the challenges posed by their implementation. What, why and how? A unique reference source for this historic act, this Handbook is intended for professional readers, namely officials, parliamentarians, diplomats, business leaders, lawyers, consultants, think tanks, civil society organisations, university teachers, trainers, students and journalists. The work has been carried out by two teams of researchers from leading independent think tanks, CEPS in Brussels and the Reformatics policy consulting firm in Tbilisi, with the support of the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida). It is one of a trilogy of Handbooks, with the other two volumes examining similar Association Agreements made by the EU with Ukraine and Moldova. CEPS EDITED BY MICHAEL EMERSON AND TAMARA KOVZIRIDZE An affiliate of Rowman & Littlefield A Trilogy of Handbooks: Understanding the EU’s Association Agreements and Deep www.rowmaninternational.com www.ceps.eu and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas (DCFTAs) with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine Deepening EU–Georgian Relations Deepening EU–Georgian Relations What, why and how? Edited by Michael Emerson and Tamara Kovziridze CEPS contributors Reformatics Steven Blockmans contributors Michael Emerson Giorgi Akhalaia Hrant Kostanyan David Bolkvadze Guillaume Van Der Loo Zaza Chelidze Gvantsa Duduchava Lali Gogoberidze Alexandre Kacharava Helen Khoshtaria Tamara Kovziridze Vakhtang (Vato) Lejava Natia Samushia George Zedginidze One of a trilogy of Handbooks explaining the EU’s Association Agreements and DCFTAs with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels Reformatics, Tbilisi Rowman & Littlefield International, London Published by Rowman & Littlefield International, Ltd Unit A, Whitacre Mews, 26-34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB www.rowmaninternational.com Rowman & Littlefield International Ltd is an affiliate of Rowman & Littlefield 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706, USA With additional offices in Boulder, New York, Toronto (Canada), and Plymouth (UK) www.rowman.com Copyright © 2016 CEPS CEPS Place du Congrès 1, B-1000 Brussels Tel: (32.2) 229.39.11 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.ceps.eu Illustrations by Constantin Sunnerberg ([email protected]) The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-78660-167-4 Paperback 978-1-78660-168-1 Hardback 978-1-78660-169-8 Ebook The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Printed in the United States of America CONTENTS List of Tables, Figures and Boxes vi Abbreviations vii Preface ix Summary 1 Part I. Political Principles, the Rule of Law and Foreign Policy 8 1. Political principles 9 2. Rule of law and movement of people 19 3. Foreign and security policy 25 Part II. Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area 30 4. Market access for goods 31 5. Trade remedies 39 6. Customs and trade facilitation 42 7. Technical standards for industrial goods 49 8. Food safety regulations 59 9. Services 67 10. Public procurement 76 11. Intellectual property rights 88 12. Competition policy 95 13. Statistics 100 Part III. Economic Cooperation 104 14. Macroeconomic context and financial assistance 105 15. Financial services 110 16. Transport 118 17. Energy 127 18. Environment 136 19. Digital sector 145 20. Consumer protection 153 21. Company law 157 22. Agriculture 162 23. Employment and social policy 167 24. Education, training and culture 174 25. Science and technology 178 26. EU agencies and programmes 181 27. Cross-border cooperation 186 28. Civil society 189 Part IV. Legal and Institutional Provisions 193 29. Dispute settlement 194 30. Institutional provisions 199 v List of Tables, Figures and Boxes Table 4.1 Trade turnover between Georgia and EU countries ($ mn), 2008–15 34 Table 4.2 EU–Georgia trade structure by commodity (top ten products by volume), exports, 2015 35 Table 4.3 EU–Georgia trade structure by commodity (top ten products by volume), imports, 2015 35 Table 4.4 Georgia’s trade structure by country or region ($ mn), 2013 and 2015 36 Table 9.1 Reservations with regard to national treatment or MFN for establishment in service sectors 69 Table 9.2 Reservations with regard to market access and national treatment for cross-border supply of services 70 Table 10.1 Thresholds for the application of public procurement rules 77 Table 10.2 Indicative time schedule for approximation of public procurement rules 81 Table 14.1 Georgia’s main economic indicators, 2005–16 106 Table 21.1 EU company law directives applicable to Georgia 159 Table 22.1 Agriculture as a share of GDP, sown area and livestock numbers, 1990–2015 164 Table 22.2 Food imports to Georgia, 2000–15 165 Table 22.3 Food exports from Georgia, 2000–15 166 Table 25.1 Main thematic priorities of Horizon 2020 179 Figure 22.1 Real growth rate of agriculture in Georgia 164 Box 9.1 Summary of commitments and reservations of the EU and Georgia for service sectors 73 Box 17.1 European-funded investment in the Georgian energy sector 132 Box 23.1 Relationship between EU employment and social directives and ILO conventions 170 Box 26.1 EU agencies open to Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia 181 Box 26.2 EU programmes open to Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia 182 Box 27.1 Selected Georgia–Armenia cross-border projects 187 vi ABBREVIATIONS ACAA Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products AEO Authorised economic operator CAA Civil Aviation Agreement CCC Community Customs Code CE Conformité Européene CEN European Committee for Standardisation CENELEC European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation CFSP Common Foreign and Security Policy CIS Commonwealth of Independent States CJEU Court of Justice of the European Union CSDP Common Security and Defence Policy DCFTA Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area DRB Dispute Resolution Board DSM Dispute settlement mechanism EaP Eastern Partnership EASA European Aviation Safety Agency EaTCP Eastern Partnership Territorial Cooperation Programme EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EDA European Defence Agency EEA European Environment Agency EFTA European Free Trade Association EIA Environmental impact assessment EIB European Investment Bank EMCDDA European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction EMSA European Maritime Safety Agency ENP European Neighbourhood Policy vii ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute EU European Union FDI Foreign direct investment FSA Financial Supervision Agency FTA Free trade agreement GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GI Geographical indications GOST Gosudarstvenny Standart (State Standard) GPSD General Product Safety Directive ICT Information and communications technologies IMF International Monetary Fund INTERREG Inter-regional cooperation programmes of the EU IPR Intellectual property rights MFN Most favoured nation MoU Memorandum of Understanding NBG National Bank of Georgia NGO Non-governmental organisation NIF Neighbourhood Investment Facility ODIHR Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development OSCE Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe PEM Pan Euro-Mediterranean System of Rules of Origin PESI Pan-European infrastructure PLLC Public limited liability companies SMEs Small and medium-sized enterprises SPA State Procurement Agency SPS Sanitary and phytosanitary (food safety) regulations TBT Technical barriers to trade (industrial product standards) TRIPS Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights VLAP Visa Liberalisation Action Plan WTO World Trade Organisation viii PREFACE his Handbook seeks to explain the contents of a long and complex treaty, the Association Agreement, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), between TGeorgia on the one hand, and the European Union (EU) and its 28 member states, on the other. Like most complex legal texts, it cannot be read like a book. The purpose here is
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Law of Georgia on the STATE of EMERGENCY
    Law of Georgia ON THE STATE OF EMERGENCY Article 1. 1. State of emergency is a temporary measure declared in accordance with the Georgian legislation to secure safety of citizens of Georgia in case of war, mass riot, infringement upon territorial integrity of the country, military coup d’etat, armed rebellion, ecological catastrophe, epidemic, natural calamity, gross breakdown, epizootic and in other circumstances where the public authorities are not able to normally exercises their constitutional powers. 2. Purpose of declaring a state of emergency is to normalize the situation most promptly and to restore law and order. Article 2. 1. President of Georgia may declare state of emergency on the entire territory of Georgia or in its part. 2. President of Georgia, through media, warns the population on declaring state of emergency on the entire territory of the country or in its part and within 48 hours submits his decision to the Parliament of Georgia for approval. If the Parliament refuses to approve the decision of President, the state of emergency will be considered cancelled. 3. In a state of emergency, President of Georgia issues decrees having a legal force of laws. Such decrees shall be submitted to the Parliament in 48 hours. 4. In a state of emergency, decrees issued by President of Georgia restricting human rights and freedoms prescribed in Articles 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 30, 33 and 41 of the Constitution of Georgia, shall be subject to approval by the Parliament. Text of the decree shall be aired in media within a day since it has been signed, at least once in every two hours.
    [Show full text]
  • Bakradze Appointed As Georgian Ambassador To
    facebook.com/ georgiatoday Issue no: 888/49 • OCTOBER 18 - 20, 2016 • PUBLISHED TWICE WEEKLY PRICE: GEL 2.50 Dimitry Kumsishvili visiting reconstruction works in Gudauri In this week’s issue... Tbilisi - Ashkhabad Direct Flights to Be Launched as Part of Growing Cooperation PAGE 2 Khachapuri Index, Exchange Rate Dynamics and International Tourism ISET PAGE 4 Tbilisi Fashion FOCUS Week ON BUILDING BETTER Gudauri gets longed for water is Back system amid infrastructure PAGE 7 development works PAGE 1-2 Electricity Market Watch GALT & TAGGART PAGE 8 Bakradze Appointed as Georgian Former Diplomat Hopes Era of Messiahs Soon to Ambassador to USA End in Georgia POLITICS PAGE 11 existing relationships and the perspectives of BY THEA MORRISON strengthening cooperation between Georgia and its strategic partner, the United States. Batumi International Beach Gegeshidze’s replacement was announced by he President of Georgia, Giorgi Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Rugby Festival Short-listed for Margvelashvili, appointed David in early September. Davit Bakradze was hosted by President Bakradze, State Minister for Euro- The PM said that Bakradze had “excellent Margvelashvili Rhino Grassroots Award pean and Euro-Atlantic Integration, working experience as an ambassador among not infl uence the decision-making process.” The as the Georgia’s new Ambassador NATO member states, has huge experience President assessed his comments as “an incom- TExtraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United regarding Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration petent statement from an unqualifi ed ambas- States of America (USA) on Wednesday. and his personal characteristics will also allow sador.” Bakradze, 41, replaced former ambassador to him to establish important relations.” Gegeshidze fi rst received formal criticism dur- the USA, Archil Gegeshidze, and will begin his Gegeshidze occupied the ambassador’s post ing the October 2015 visit of the Georgian Pres- new duties on December 5, 2016.
    [Show full text]
  • Deepening EU-Georgian Relations
    Deepening EU–Georgian Relations Deepening EU–Georgian Relations What, why and how? Second edition Edited by Michael Emerson and Tamara Kovziridze CEPS contributors Reformatics Steven Blockmans contributors Michael Emerson Giorgi Akhalaia Hrant Kostanyan David Bolkvadze Guillaume Van Der Loo Zaza Chelidze Giorgi Chitadze Gvantsa Duduchava Lali Gogoberidze Alexandre Kacharava Helen Khoshtaria Tamara Kovziridze Vakhtang (Vato) Lejava Natia Samushia George Zedginidze One of a trilogy of Handbooks explaining the EU’s Association Agreements and DCFTAs with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels Reformatics, Tbilisi Rowman & Littlefield International, London Published by Rowman & Littlefield International, Ltd Unit A, Whitacre Mews, 26-34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB www.rowmaninternational.com Rowman & Littlefield International Ltd is an affiliate of Rowman & Littlefield 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706, USA With additional offices in Boulder, New York, Toronto (Canada), and Plymouth (UK) www.rowman.com Copyright © 2018 CEPS CEPS Place du Congrès 1, B-1000 Brussels Tel: (32.2) 229.39.11 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.ceps.eu Illustrations by Constantin Sunnerberg ([email protected]) The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-78660-800-0 Paperback 978-1-78660-799-7 Hardback 978-1-78660-801-7 Ebook The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
    [Show full text]
  • Reforming of the Post-Soviet Georgia's Economy in 1991-2011
    Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies Center for Applied Economic Studies Reforming of the Post-Soviet Georgia’s Economy in 1991-2011 GFSIS Center for Applied Economic Studies Research Paper—03.2013 By Vladimer Papava Senior Fellow, Director of the Center for Applied Economic Studies, Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (GFSIS), 3a, Shio Chitadze Street, Tbilisi, 0108, Republic of Georgia, Phone: (+995 32) 247-35-55 Fax: (+995 32) 298-52-65 E-mail: [email protected] www.gfsis.org www.papava.info 1 Reforming of the Post-Soviet Georgia’s Economy in 1991-2011 Vladimer Papava Abstract: Similarly to other post-Communist countries Georgia also embarked transition from a command economy to a market economy. The Georgian experience of reforming its economy should be considered interesting as the country succeeded in overcoming the hyperinflation and the economic downturn was followed with the economic growth. Successes in economic reforms were followed by stagnation, which was particularly exacerbated by the increased scale of corruption. The economic reforms, which were carried out after the ―Rose Revolution,‖ are especially interesting. Along with successful reforms of neo-liberal nature, neo-Bolshevik actions became apparent as the Government started openly infringing property rights. Keywords: economic reforms, economic development, transition to a market economy, ―Rose Revolution,‖ post-Soviet Georgia JEL Classification: P20, P21, P26, P31, P33 2 Introduction Georgia is a one of the most ancient country in the world (e.g., Lang, 1966; Metreveli, 1995), which has already made an exclusively right choice—to tie up its future with Europe, with the West (Rondeli, 2001).
    [Show full text]
  • Country of Origin Information Report Republic of Georgia 25 November
    REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION (COI) REPORT Country of Origin Information Service 25 November 2010 GEORGIA 25 NOVEMBER 2010 Contents Preface Paragraphs Background Information 1. GEOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................ 1.01 Maps ...................................................................................................................... 1.05 2. ECONOMY ................................................................................................................ 2.01 3. HISTORY .................................................................................................................. 3.01 Post-communist Georgia, 1990-2003.................................................................. 3.02 Political developments, 2003-2007...................................................................... 3.03 Elections of 2008 .................................................................................................. 3.05 Presidential election, January 2008 ................................................................... 3.05 Parliamentary election, May 2008 ...................................................................... 3.06 Armed conflict with Russia, August 2008 .......................................................... 3.09 Developments following the 2008 armed conflict.............................................. 3.10 4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS ..........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Natural Resource Management and Factors Conducive to Elite Corruption
    Association Green Alternative is a non-governmental, non-profit organization founded in 2000. The mission of Green Alternative is to protect the environment, biological and cultural heritage of Georgia through promoting economically sound and socially acceptable alternatives, establishing the principles of environmental and social justice and upholding public access to information and decision-making processes. We organize our work around six thematic and five cross- cutting areas. Thematic priority areas include: energy – extractive industry – climate change; transport sector and environment; privatization and environment; biodiversity conservation; waste management; water management. Cross-cutting priority areas include: environmental gover- nance; public access to information, decision-making and justice; instruments for environmental management and sustainable development; European Neighbourhood Policy, monitoring of the lending of the international finan- Natural Resource Management and cial institutions and international financial flow in Georgia. Factors Conducive to Elite Corruption Green Alternative cooperates with non-governmental organizations both inside and outside Georgia. In 2001 Green Alternative, along with other local and international non-governmental organizations, founded a network of observers devoted to monitoring of development of a poverty reduction strategy in Georgia. Since 2002 Green Alternative has been monitoring implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project, its compliance with the policies and guidelines of the international finan- cial institutions, the project’s impacts on the local popula- tion and the environment. Since 2005 the organization has been a member of the Monitoring Coalition of the ENP (European Neighbourhood Policy) Action Plan. In 2006 Green Alternative founded an independent forest monitor- ing network. Since establishment Green Alternative is a member of CEE Bankwatch Network – one of the stron- gest networks of environmental NGOs in Central and East- ern Europe.
    [Show full text]
  • THE GEORGIAN TAXATION SYSTEM – an OVERVIEW Tbilisi, May 2010
    THE GEORGIAN TAXATION SYSTEM – AN OVERVIEW Tbilisi, May 2010 Executive Summary Taxation – fundamental to state formation and the provision of state services – has long been an issue that has plagued Georgia. Before the Rose Revolution, there was widespread tax avoidance and evasion, reflecting state weakness and corruption, and impacting severely on service delivery. With political will, and specifically with the introduction of a new tax code in 2005, there has, however, been a major change in the Georgian fiscal landscape. Taxes have been slashed, procedures streamlined, corruption eliminated and compliance greatly improved. Reflecting this has been a massive increase in the government’s tax-take. There are, however, some major caveats. The tax administration, while improved, is still less than efficient, and crucially has failed to apply risk analysis or other auditing mechanisms in selecting businesses for tax audits. As well as a waste of administrative resources, this fundamental omission has also allowed for the re-emergence of some disturbing practices. The excesses of the Financial Police, all too evident in the first few years of the Saakashvili administration, are again a fact of life for many businesses in Georgia. Budgetary shortfalls are a major motivating factor, but so too are political considerations, with tax audits, as one commentator noted, being used as a political club. While the authorities have recognised that low taxes contribute to economic growth, they have failed to apply fiscal instruments to various policy areas. Reflecting an extreme liberal economic outlook, taxation has not been used as a lever to promote job creation in specific sectors or regions.
    [Show full text]
  • C R E E E S the Spring Semester Has Quickly Filled with Activities and and Slavic Events
    T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f T e x a s a t Au s t i n Center forR ussian East European E& urasian Studies Separatist Confl icts Challenge New Georgian President by Julie George NEWSMarch/ April 2005 When Mikheil Saakashvili became president of Georgia after Vol. 20 No.2 the Rose Revolution of 2003, one of his fi rst promises was to restore the territory of Georgia, reclaiming the separatist territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Current UN recognition understands both Abkhazia and South Ossetia as Georgian territory, but both operate independently Separatist Conflicts Challenge of Georgian law and influence. Of the many bold promises by the New Georgian President 1-2 young leader, the assurance of territorial unity is his most ambitious. The politics CREEES Calendar 3 of Soviet dissolution created opportunities Georgia: History, Legends, for separatism in the Myths and Stories 4-6 successor states. In Georgia, several From the Library 6 factors helped spur the secessionist Explore UT Schedule 7 movements by Abkhazia and South Outreach News 8 Ossetia. First, the i n d e p e n d e n c e CREEES News 9 movements of the Union Republics CREEES Travel 10 (such as Georgia) created a precedent Area Opportunities 11 for the Soviet ethnic autonomies to make similar claims for Map used with permission, GlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.org independence and http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/georgia.htm sovereignty, as they did in Chechnya, and Nagorno-Karabakh. Second, the The CREEES Newsletter is pub lished regularly during the academic year using politics of nationalism that helped drive Union Republic independence affected no state funds.
    [Show full text]
  • Crime and Excessive Punishment: the Prevalence and Causes of Human Rights Abuse in Georgia’S Prisons
    CRIME AND EXCESSIVE PUNISHMENT: THE PREVALENCE AND CAUSES OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE IN GEORGIA’S PRISONS Gavin Slade Iago Kachkachishvili Lela Tsiskarishvili Nika Jeiranashvili Nino Gobronidze Advisors: Baroness Vivien Stern, Professor Andrew Coyle CRIME AND EXCESSIVE PUNISHMENT: THE PREVALENCE AND CAUSES OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE IN GEORGIA’S PRISONS Tbilisi, 2014 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The following report was made possible by generous contribution of individual experts and organizations who contributed their time and expertise. Open Society Georgia Foundation would like to extend special thanks to the authors and advisors of this report; contributing experts: Emil Adelkhanov, Giorgi Burjanadze, Mariana Chicu, Tsira Chanturia; and organizations: Article 42 of the Constitution, Georgian Center for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (GCRT), Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, Human Rights Center, Institute of Social Studies and Analysis, International Center for Prison Studies, Penal Reform International, Public Advocacy, and Youth for Justice. The Foundation would like to express gratitude to Public Defender of Georgia, to the Ministry of Corrections of Georgia, and to the Office of the Personal Data Protection Inspector, who enabled the interviewers to conduct prisoners’ survey. The Foundation would also like to thank hundreds of individuals throughout Georgia, who have participated as respondents in the survey. PREFACE In the last decade, the small south Caucasus country of Georgia has been turned into a testing ground for radical criminal justice policies. In 2003-2012, its prison population jumped by 300%, a huge increase that led to Georgia being the fourth biggest incarcerator in the world per capita by 2010. Then, following a change of government, in a three-month period, beginning at the end of 2012 around half of the 24,000- strong prison population were released in an amnesty.
    [Show full text]
  • CJSS Second Issue:CJSS Second Issue.Qxd
    Caucasus Journal of Social Sciences The University of Georgia 2009 Caucasus Journal of Social Sciences UDC(uak)(479)(06) k-144 3 Caucasus Journal of Social Sciences Caucasus Journal of Social Sciences EDITOR IN CHIEF Julieta Andghuladze EDITORIAL BOARD Edward Raupp Batumi International University Giuli Alasania The University of Georgia Janette Davies Oxford University Ken Goff The University of Georgia Kornely Kakachia Associate Professor Michael Vickers The University of Oxford Manana Sanadze The University of Georgia Mariam Gvelesiani The University of Georgia Marina Meparishvili The University of Georgia Mark Carper The University of Alaska Anchorage Natia Kaladze The University of Georgia Oliver Reisner The Humboldt University Sergo Tsiramua The University of Georgia Tamar Lobjanidze The University of Georgia Tamaz Beradze The University of Georgia Timothy Blauvelt American Councils Tinatin Ghudushauri The University of Georgia Ulrica Söderlind Stockholm University Vakhtang Licheli The University of Georgia 4 Caucasus Journal of Social Sciences Printed at The University of Georgia Copyright © 2009 by the University of Georgia. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in any form or any means, electornic, photocopinying, or otherwise, without prior written permission of The University of Georgia Press. No responsibility for the views expressed by authors in the Caucasus Journal of Social Sciences is assumed by the editors or the publisher. Caucasus Journal of Social Sciences is published annually by The University
    [Show full text]
  • Volunteering in Georgia a Handbook
    Volunteering in Georgia A Handbook © Copyright Academy for Peace and Development, 2008. Disclaimer The use of this handbook in part or whole is permissible providing the integrity of the manual remains intact and an appropriate quotation and referencing system are used. Printed by The NewsPaper ‘‘Sakartvelos Matsne’’ Ltd. Tbilisi, Georgia. Cover: Graffiti, Tbilisi. ISBN 978 9941 0 0725 5 Volunteering in Georgia A Handbook 006 Preface Dear volunteers going to Georgia, Your upcoming experience of the European Voluntary Service (EVS) is certainly going to be one of the most adventurous and personality-enriching periods in your life. Not only because you are going to the Southern Caucasus, far away from your home country and culture, but also because you will support the local com- munity where you are going with your work, because you will help other people from your heart! By being an international volunteer you will definitely learn a lot and experience both the bright and dark sides of the local culture you are moving to. Neverthe- less your work will also be directed towards people there. You will need a lot of responsibility and surely will face great moments of success shared with others. Being a member of the large family of EVS volunteers makes you an actor of positive change in Europe and beyond. Assume this fully and enjoy a mindful of heartfelt emotions! The Handbook you are just about to read will be very helpful with your pre- paration for and awareness of many obstacles that you will meet along the way. The Handbook might also help you a lot to identify your own objectives for your upcoming EVS project.
    [Show full text]
  • National Competitiveness Report Georgia 2012/2013 Toward a Multi-Sector Regional Hub
    NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS REPORT GEORGIA 2012/2013 TOWARD A MULTI-SECTOR REGIONAL HUB National Competitiveness Report Georgia 2012/2013 TOWARD A MULTI-SECTOR REGIONAL HUB Tbilisi, Georgia 2013 ISET Policy Institute is one of the first university-based think-tanks in the South Caucasus. It is based at the International School of Economics (ISET) of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) in Georgia. Established in May 2011, ISET-PI builds upon ISET’s academic strength and TSU’s tradition of excellence and social engagement. Authors: Eric Livny, Andrei Sarychev, Giorgi Bakradze, Irakli Galdava, Giorgi Kelbakiani, Givi Melkadze, Giorgi Mekerishvili Design by Giorgi Balakhashvili Acknowledgements This report was prepared in cooperation with the Economic Prosperity Initiative by USAID as part of a concentrated effort to promote Georgia’s global competitiveness. Special thanks go to Barrie Hebb, Kevin Murphy and Alan Saffery for providing methodological guidance and training early on in the process, to Tina Mendelson for expert opinion and advice, and to Tamuna Kapianidze for helping organize public discussion and promote the competitiveness agenda. Major segments in this report follow the World Economic Forum’s methodology, and we are indebted to WEF for sharing their data and knowledge. Invaluable assistance in the process of data collection was provided by Irina Kvachadze from the Business Association of Georgia, who helped organize more than 30 interviews with the CEOs of the largest Georgian companies. Naturally, we would like to thank all those who agreed to interview for the report and connecting it to the reality on the ground, including current and former Ministers Davit Narmania, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, David Kirvalidze, and Dimitri Gvindadze.
    [Show full text]