COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS SUBCOMMITTEE ON SECURITY AND DEFENCE - The Secretariat -

Visit of the delegation of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) to EUMM 13-16 July 2010 REPORT

This document does not necessarily reflect the official views of the European Parliament and other EU/EC Institutions

1 The SEDE delegation to the EUMM in Georgia was included in the annual programme of Committee/Subcommittee delegations approved by the Bureau of the European Parliament.

This delegation which travelled to Georgia on 13-16 July 2010 to find out how the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) works, was composed of: Mr Krzysztof Lisek (PPE, SEDE Vice Chair, rapporteur on Georgia), Mr Justas Vincas Paleckis (S&D, SEDE Vice Chair) and Mr Paweł Robert Kowal (ECR).

The EUMM is an unarmed civilian monitoring ESDP mission set up on 1 October 2008, following the agreements of 12 August and 8 September 2008 between the then EU acting President Sarkozy and Russian President Medvedev, which ended the Russian-Georgian conflict of August 2008. It covers the entire territory of Georgia and it must be noted that 26 EU member States are represented amongst the EUMM staff.

The Mission is mandated to monitor the compliance of all parties with the so-called Six-Point agreement and, in close coordination with the UN and the OSCE and consistent with other EU activities, to contribute to stabilisation, normalisation and confidence building in Georgia, whilst at the same time providing information to the European policy.

The Mission's budget is 49,600,000 Euro. The EUMM counts approximately 330 staff, including personnel of the Headquarter and field offices, around 250 out of the staff are monitors. The EUMM Headquarter is located in and the Field Offices are located in MTSKHETA, GORI and ZUGDIDI.

The Mission is tasked to contribute to the stabilisation and normalisation of the situation in the areas affected by the recent conflict, to oversee the deployment of the Georgian police and armed forces and to observe the compliance of all parties with human rights and humanitarian law. The role of the EUMM is also to help build confidence between the parties of the August 2008 conflict. The EUMM is therefore actively engaged in the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism, agreed during the Geneva talks, in order to establish regular contacts between all parties on the ground to discuss security issues.

As customary for SEDE delegations, the Council services (SITCEN) provided their valuable support for the success of the delegation: an informal in camera briefing on the political and security situation in Georgia (all 3 Members participated in this briefing) took place before the delegation departed.

Objective of the delegation's mission and meetings:

The delegation sought to learn more about the mandate of the mission and the challenges the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia is encountering on the ground, whether the Mission is financed adequately and whether it is equipped with the right and harmonised equipment. The visit of the delegation aimed at seeing the situation on the ground, the position regarding freedom of movement across the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL), and the work of the EUMM teams in the area. For this

2 purpose, the delegation met in the EUMM Head Quarters the Head of Mission, Ambassador Haber, and his Deputy, General Janvier, visited the Gori EUMM Field Office, the Mtskheta Field Office and accompanied an EUMM routine patrol to a check point on the administrative boundary line with (Zemo Nikozi). This patrol was carried out in EUMM armoured cars.

The delegation visited as well two Internally Displaced People's (IDP's) settlements (Tserovani and Saguramo) financed by the EU.

The delegation met the EU Delegation in Tbilisi (Ambassador Per Eklund), several Georgian authorities: the Minister of Defence Mr Bachana Akhalaia, the Secretary of the National Security Council Mrs Eka Tkeshelashvili, the Deputy Minister of Interior of Georgia Mrs Eka Zguladze, the Head of the Analytical Department Mr Shota Utiashvili and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Alexander Nalbandov.

Furthermore, an exchange of views took place over a working lunch in Gori with the Polish and Lithuanian Ambassadors in Tbilisi. Archbishop Andrea from the Gori Ortodox Church was also present at the lunch.

Members could have an exchange of views over dinner with the representatives of the Georgian Parliament: Deputy Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee Mr Giorgi Kandelaki, the First Deputy Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee Mr Irakli Kavtaradze, the Deputy Chairman of the European Integration Committee of Parliament of Georgia Mr Bacho Kitiashvili and the Deputy Chairman of European Integration Committee Mr Irakli Kenchoshvil.

Main conclusions:

Ambassador Haber, General Janvier and the chiefs of the Field Offices in Mtskheta and Gori briefed the Members on the EUMM: while operating in a difficult and delicate context with denied access to the two breakaway regions of South Ossetia and , the mission nevertheless could register a significant success in its tasks of stabilisation, normalisation and confidence building.

The situation in the region is stable but still remains very fragile. The EUMM representatives underlined that there are no incidents at ABLs with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The situation improved after the Russians replaced South Ossetian forces responsible for ABLs protection.

The Members were also briefed about the general situation involving all IDPs across Georgia as well as the living conditions in IDPs camps. Three IDPs camps were briefly visited by the delegation (Tserovani, Tsilkani and Saguramo). Delegation participants were impressed by Georgian efficiency in provision of housing and infrastructure (i.e. schools, medical points) for the IDPs. At the same time, both the Georgian representatives and IDPs identified the lack of employment among the IDPs camp residents as the most significant problem.

3 - Where it has access, the EUMM is a success: even without executive powers it succeeds in monitoring the compliance with the Six-Point agreement and effectively contributes to reduce tensions. The EUMM is the sole international force present in Georgia and therefore it plays a vital role for the Georgian security by providing the only presence of international observers in the country.

- The delegation members were disappointed when receiving confirmation that the access of the EUMM observers to Abkhazia and South Ossetia is still refused, so therefore the full mandate of EUMM can only be executed partially. The contacts with Abkhazia and South Ossetia are very poor. In particular, Georgian authorities confirmed the information that there are no relations whatsoever with South Ossetia and occasional, unofficial contacts with Abkhazia.

- When visiting the Headquarters and Field Offices, the delegation could discuss with the EUMM staff and learn about the functioning of the Mission: the EUMM has 15 – 20 patrols going out every day. They are reporting on the grievances of the local population, on problems with the approaching winter, on gender issues, on human rights issues, on the security situation and the presence of military and police forces in the area. The EUMM teams are made up of professionals of different nationalities and professional background, experienced in ESDP (retired military service, gendarmerie, police) working for a safe and secure environment, for the benefit of everyone in this region.

- The delegation also discussed the need of effective and practical cooperation within the EU family on the ground, under the EU flag (EUMM, EU Delegation, EU Special Representative).

- The EUMM is confronted with several questions and challenges while acting on the ground:  the risk of the "borderisation" process of the administrative boundary lines - ABLs with Abkhazia and South Ossetia,  efforts to initiate and work interactions with Russians,  concerns about the procedures of secondments from certain countries; the need to revise certain regulations following the EAS implementation,  humanitarian aid questions linked to IDPs,  vehicles and supportive equipment, communication system, trainings etc to be on a high level of reliability and effectiveness.

- A visit to the check point at the Zemi Nikozi and participating in a patrol provided the Members of the delegation with an inside view of the situation on the ground and the way of fulfilling the Field Offices' tasks.

- The meetings with the Georgian government representatives served for a number of exchanges of views on the current internal political situation (internal reforms), focusing mainly on defence issues and security strategy (lessons learnt after the invasion of 2008, Geneva talks, NATO/Georgia committee, prevention mechanisms for security), relations with , regional relations with neighbouring countries, visa questions, IDP settlements, EU-Georgia Association Agreement, ENP, State Strategy on the occupied territories.

4 As already said, the Council provided all the necessary the support for the preparation of the visit to the EUMM as well as its assistance on the spot. The good cooperation between the institutions is crucial in the process of parliamentary scrutiny over CSDP missions and operations.

5 In this context the delegation wants to thank especially: - EUMM: Ambassador Haber, Head of Mission, General Janvier, Deputy Head of Mission and the staff of the Field Offices in Mtskheta and Gori; - Mr Per Eklund, Head of the EU Delegation; - Directorate for Parliamentary Affairs (CFSP): Director Matthiessen and Mr Allen, who personally joined the delegation; - the Parliament of Georgia and its services.

6 COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS SUBCOMMITTEE ON SECURITY AND DEFENCE Delegation to Georgia 13 - 16 July 2010

FINAL PROGRAMME

Document for internal use

TUESDAY 13 JULY 2010

Individual arrivals in Tbilisi

Transport to the hotel provided by the Georgian Protocol

Hotel AMBASADORI 13, Shavteli St Tbilisi 0105, Georgia Tel.: (+995 32) 43 94 94 or (+995 32) 18 01 10 Fax: (+995 32) 93 17 40 - [email protected]

WEDNESDAY 14 JULY 2010

10.30 Departure from the hotel Hotel AMBASADORI 13, Shavteli St - Tbilisi 0105 Tel.: (+995 32) 439494 or 180110

11.00 Meeting with Per Eklund, Head of the EU 38, Nino Chkheidze St. Delegation Tbilisi Tbilisi 0102 Contact: Nana Kashia Tel: (+995 32) 94 37 63 Mob: (+995) 99 51 71 15

12.30-13.45 Lunch hosted by Ambassador Per Eklund, Schardin Head of the EU Delegation Tbilisi with SEDE Schardin st. 12 delegation and Lithuanian and Polish Tbilisi Ambassadors

7 14.00-14.45 Meeting with Secretary of the National Ingorokva Str. 7, Tbilisi Security Council of Georgia Mrs Eka TKESHELASHVILI

15.00-15.45 Meeting with the Deputy Minister of Interior Tbilisi 0190 of Georgia Mrs Eka Zguladze, and Head of Kakheti Highway 38 km Analitical Department Mr Shota Utiashvili Tel: (995 32) 41 83 71 Tel: (995 32) 41 83 72

16.00-16.45 Meeting with Deputy Minister of Foreign 0118 Tbilisi Affairs Mr Alexander Nalbandov Sh. Chitadze str. 4 Tel: (995 32) 284 747 Fax: (995 32) 284 678

16.50 Departure for the EUMM HQ

17.15-18.45 Briefing on EUMM mandate, structure and EU Monitoring Mission challenges 49, Krtsanisi St, 0140 Tbilisi Contact: Meeting with Ambassador HABER, HoM Björn Kühne Meeting with General JANVIER, Deputy Head of HoM Office Mobile +995 91 227038 HoM

19.00-19.45 Meeting with the Minister of Defence of 20, General Kvinitadze Str. Georgia Mr Bachana AKHALAIA Tbilisi 0112 Tel: (+995 32) 91 19 63 Tel. (+995 32) 91 04 21 Fax: (+995 32) 91 06 45

20.00 Dinner hosted by the Deputy Chairman of Restaurant “Kalakuri” Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament 13 Shavteli St. of Georgia Mr Giorgi Kandelaki Tbilisi First Deputy Chairman of Foreign Affairs Tel: +995 32 99 66 83 Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, Mr Irakli Kavtaradze

THURSDAY 15 JULY 2010

09.00 Departure from the hotel to Field Office Hotel AMBASADORI Mtskheta (pick up by EUMM mini–bus)

09.30-10.00 Visit / Briefing in Field Office Mtskheta Contacts: FO Mtskheta: Hans Schneider, Operations officer +995-91-227142

General issues: Björn Kühne, Head of HoM Office: +995-91-227038

8 Grazina Siauciunaite, Assistant to HoM: +995-91-227017 Security: Thomas Hofmann, Senior Mission Security Officer: +995-91-227060 10.00-12.00 Visit to IDP settlements TSEROVANI and SAGURAMO with FO Mtskheta patrol (transport provided by FO Mtskheta)

12.00-13.50 Transport to Gori (provided by FO Mtskheta)

13.00-14.00 Working Lunch hosted by the Deputy Restaurant Venezia Chairman of the European Integration Committee of Parliament of Georgia Mr Bacho Kitiashvili Arcybishop Andreafrom Gori Ortodox Church Hand over of the Delegation form FO Mtsketa to FO Gori

14.30-15.00 Visit / Briefing in Field Office Gori (transport FO Gori: Gonthier Zimmer, within Gori provided by FO Gori) Operations officer +995-91-227088 15.00-17.00 Field visit to ABL (location - Zemo Nikozi) with FO Gori patrol (transport provided by FO Gori)

17.00 Meeting point at Karaleti for transfer from FO Gori patrol to HQ mini-bus

17.00-18.00 Return to the hotel in Tbilisi (transport via EUMM mini-bus)

Departure from the hotel Hotel AMBASADORI

19.00 Dinner hosted by the Deputy Chairman of Restaurant “Puris Sakhli” European Integration Committee of Gorgasali 7, Old Town Parliament of Georgia Mr Irakli Tbilisi Kenchoshvili Tel: +995 22 999537

FRIDAY 16 JULY 2010

Individual departures from the hotel

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