The FINANCIAL — The EU has awarded a non-reimbursable aid grant to Georgia in support of the country’s reform progress with trade and business development, vocational education and employment, agriculture, and integration of internally displaced people (IDPs).
Grants were also made to Georgia’s justice sector, public administration, public finance management and regional development policy, according to EU Neighbours East Info.
EU support aims to help Georgian businesses maximise their trade potential with the EU, through better job opportunities for Georgians, and the strengthening of agriculture and rural development through capacity building for small farmers. It also aims to help IDPs to develop their livelihoods, and improve people’s access to justice.
Budget support is an instrument for the EU’s cooperation with partner countries. It involves direct financial transfers to the state budget of the partner country. The EUR 43.95 million grant is given provided that Georgia continues to show progress with its reforms.
The EU’s budget support is only disbursed when agreed conditions for results are met. If the Commission considers performance on any of these points is insufficient, it withholds a part or the whole disbursement until credible measures have been established.
This is a way of fostering partner countries’ ownership of development policies and reforms, and addressing the source, not the symptoms, of underdevelopment.
