IP/04/465

Brussels, 6 April 2004

President Prodi and Commissioner Patten meet President Saakashvili to confirm EU support for ’s reform process

Today at 13h00 in Brussels, President Romano Prodi will hold a meeting and a working lunch with Georgian President . They will hold a press corner at 14h30. Subsequently, President Saakashvili will hold bilateral talks with Commissioner Chris Patten. This will be the first visit of the recently-elected Georgian President to the Commission. President Prodi and Commissioner Patten will take this opportunity to reaffirm the EU’s determination to bring Georgia closer to Europe and its support to the Georgian government’s reform programme. In particular, the Commission looks forward to progress in the areas of democracy and Human Rights, the strengthening of the rule of , the fight against corruption as well as the building of a free and transparent market economy.

Before the meeting President Prodi said: “Following the peaceful and democratic political revolution in Georgia, the EU is determined to continue supporting Georgian efforts towards political and economic reform. This is the best way for Georgia to get closer to the Union. I trust President Saakashvili will also do his utmost to solve all pending territorial issues in Georgia trough peaceful dialogue”. Commissioner Patten added: “Georgia is at a particularly crucial moment in its history. We have confidence that President Saakashvili will show the political will to lead the courageous Georgian people towards a bright and solid democratic future, in which the rule of law and a free market economy replace organised crime and corruption. The EU stands by Georgia in this quest.” President Prodi and Commissioner Patten will take this opportunity to update President Saakashvili on the EU Neighbourhood Policy. The Commission was invited by the 26 January General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) to bring forward a recommendation on Georgia as regards its inclusion in the European Neighbourhood policy. The Commission intends to make its recommendation to the Council in May. The meeting takes place in the aftermath of a spectacular democratic and peaceful revolution in Georgia. The “” led to the resignation of former President Shevarnadze on 23 November 2003. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected on 4 January 2004. Furthermore, at the 28 March parliamentary elections, Mr Saakashvili’s bloc won around 75% of popular support. Background The EU has a long record of economic assistance to Georgia. Between 1992 and 2002, the EU has provided over €370 million in assistance to Georgia. The EU also supported politically and financially the democratic transition process in Georgia during the last months. On 2 December 2003, President Prodi met in Brussels the interim President of Georgia Ms Nino Burjanadze to stress EU support to the democratic transition process. On 19 December the Commission made available €2M under a Rapid Reaction Mechanism to support the holding of democratic Presidential and Parliamentary elections (IP/03/1794). In parallel, the Commission released €5M from the food security programme. http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/georgia/intro/index.htm

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