Interview following the roundtable meeting on “Georgia’s European way and foreign policy priorities” on the occasion of the visit of the Georgian Delegation to The Netherlands led by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Gigi Gigiadze, 25 April, 2016 at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
By Elizabeth Naumczyk, photographer Henry Arvidsson.
Diplomat Magazine was given the unique opportunity to conduct an interview with Mr. Gigi Gigiadze, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs who was keen to explain his current visit concerning bilateral political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Georgia and The Netherlands.
The Minister’s schedule included a roundtable meeting on Georgia’s European way and foreign policy priorities organized by the Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations and the Embassy of Georgia, at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after which this interview was conducted.
The Minister began by saying: “Georgia has a good record on reforms. Georgia has a good achievement in terms of overall development of the country. Georgia has a good record in terms of getting closer to the European Union (EU) in terms of accepting and taking over the values which in the EU are the most important ones. But Georgia always used to be and continues to be a true European country. … Georgia is one of the first Christian countries in the world. We always felt Georgia belongs to Europe and European civilization … after regaining independence the situation has changed and we are free to choose and we would like to keep this choice.”
There is a high expectation that Georgia will achieve the visa liberalization with the EU during the EU Presidency of The Netherlands in a couple of months. Mr. Gigi Gigiadze was the chief negotiator and led a group of governmental institutions on the Visa Liberlisation Action Plan (VLAP). He said he was proud to have had the opportunity to work with young people in this group who did “such an amazing job and have achieved such a success”.
In December 2015 the European Commission in its fourth and final progress report recognised that Georgia had fully implemented all the reforms necessary for visa liberalisation with the EU. Georgia, said Mr Gigiadze has “overfulfilled” its obligations by even completing additional recommendations. On 9 March, the Commission presented the legislative proposal on amending the respective regulation allowing short-term visa waiver for Georgian citizens within the Schengen area. The proposal is being discussed at the EU Council and the European Parliament and is expected to be in place before July 2016.
The VLAP is a technical instrument and not linked to any political item. Mr. Gigi Gigiadze said, if the visa liberalization is done during The Netherlands EU Presidency, it will build on the relationship between the two countries and solidify the partnership. The EU’s bilateral cooperation with Georgia contributes to its eastern regional dimension, the Eastern Partnership.
Visa liberalization will affect every aspect of the social life in Georgia “it will be amazing, no one could imagine a year ago it would be happening.” . Mr. Gigi Gigiadze said once in place it will provide the younger generation with the opportunity to travel to the EU and see what they were taught from childhood for themselves, “see for themselves what Europe is based on, how Europe is functioning…the main deliverable – people will increase their belief in the whole process.” Since regaining independence at the beginning of the 1990s, every generation in Georgia was told to get closer to Europe and now the second language in Georgia is English.
The Minister explained the importance of European integration in Georgia’s foreign and domestic policy. All the main political parties in Georgia agree on the foreign political agenda and these parties represent the majority of the population. Georgia belongs to Europe and is guided by its longstanding goal to integrate into the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Today, Georgia’s main aim is to achieve the closest possible political association and economic integration with the EU by continuously reforming the country and surveys show that last year it was one of the best performers “we are already a very reliable partner of the EU.”
Georgia has advanced reforms and contributed to the establishment of the legislative policy and institutional framework in compliance with the best European and international standards. Mr Gigiadze highlighted justice reforms with new regulations being adopted in the area of human rights. Last year Georgia adopted anti-discrimination law and achieved good results in terms of media freedom, consolidation of democracy and institutional building. He emphasised that the reforms were first and foremost for the benefit of the country.
In 2015 The Netherlands was the third biggest investor in Georgia. Dutch expertise, especially in the agricultural sector is highly valued, as is the assistance of the Dutch Government through governmental agencies in the implementation of projects in agriculture and rural development as well as human rights, and so forth. But Georgia can also contribute its ancient technology of wine-making spanning some 8,000 years. Georgia was the first producer of wine and has some 550 grape varieties. It is called the “cradle of wine-making” and traditionally the process has been to use huge clay pots anchored in the ground contributing to the special flavour of Georgian wine.
Mr. Gigiadze said he appreciated the support of the Dutch Government for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-recognition policy, its European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations, as well as the UN Resolution on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and contribution to the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM).
Georgia has become an exceptional performer and an encouraging model for other EU partner countries having met concrete deliverables demanded by the EU in order to move forward in the areas of visa liberalization and the effective implementation of the Association Agreement, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (AA/DCFTA) signed in June 2014 with the EU.
Through the Association Agreement, Georgia launched a comprehensive legislative approximation with the EU acquis. European norms and standards are being gradually introduced in each and every aspect of political, economic and social life. With the solid support of the EU and its member states, Georgia has advanced its democratic reform agenda and stepped up sectorial cooperation in key areas such as energy security, transport, environment, education, science, culture, innovations and information technologies.
The DCFTA is an essential component of the Association Agreement and a major opportunity for the modernisation of Georgia’s economy, as well as a huge stimulus to reform. Providing access to the world’s largest market of 500 million consumers without tariffs and quotas is set to enhance Georgia’s attractiveness to foreign investments and create jobs in the country. The economic reforms implemented under the DCFTA have contributed to enhanced trade with the EU and increased foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow.
All EU Member States have completed the ratification procedures of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement, including the Netherlands, which finalised the ratification process in September 2015. While undergoing final procedures at the Council, the Agreement is expected to enter into force in summer establishing the new legal framework of the enhanced EU-Georgia relationship. Pending the entry into force, the Association Agreement has been provisionally applied since September 2014.
For its part, the Georgian government remains committed to seizing the full potential of its enhanced relationship with the EU and making the best use of these agreements and reaping the benefits of the political association and economic integration process “demonstrating that reforms are feasible and states are promoted in line with the “more for more” principle.
Mr. Gigiadze ended by saying that Georgia attaches great importance to the Dutch EU Presidency and wishes it success in the fulfilment of its agenda.
