In the summer of 2019, the European Union launched consultations with Georgian CSOs on the future of the Eastern Partnership. In response to this process, on the initiative of the Open Society Georgia Foundation, five Georgian think tanks have produced a joint document describing the ways of transforming the Eastern Partnership in order to address the expectations of its member states.
The document addresses questions of public interest: how can the EU contribute to the economic development of Georgia and the EaP countries, legal employment in Europe, education reform, rule of law, national security and public awareness in the EaP and the EU member states.
Also, in order to remove additional barriers for the European integration process, it is important to acknowledge the EU membership perspective. Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine have received all the benefits provided by the EaP through visa-free travel, free trade, Association Agreements and giving them the prospect of joining the EU would create a new impetus to the European integration process and to the reforms necessary in this process.
The document was presented on December 16, 2019. Vakhtang Makharoblishvili, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, David Songulashvili, Chair of the EU Integration Committee, Parliament of Georgia, H.E. Carl Hartzell, Ambassador of EU to Georgia, and H.E. Hubert Knirsch, Ambassador of Germany to Georgia and representatives of media and civil society attended the meeting.