The Georgian dream

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili conceded his party's defeat, setting the stage for the first peaceful, democratic transition through election since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

The results of the parliamentary elections of 1 October 2012 means Georgia will have a multi-party parliament, boosting democracy in the nation, observers say.

The vote is also a reflection of how the people feel about Saakashvili. He took power in 2004 after the Rose Revolution, the name given to widespread protests over disputed parliamentary elections. Saakashvili is credited with have changed the country by moving toward integration with the West, with steps such as seeking membership in the European Union and NATO. He also revamped the nation's economy, retooling it to reflect a free market system.But critics said that underneath, his government was dominated by Soviet-style "administrative measures." Mr Saakashvili will remain in power until presidential elections next year. However, under agreed reforms the parliament and prime minister will acquire greater powers than the president after that election.

Saakashvili conceded his party's loss to the coalition headed by billionaire businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili, the Georgian Dream.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: United National Movement (UNM) / ერთიანი ნაციონალური მოძრაობა , Ertiani Natsionaluri Modzraoba
  Leader: Mikheil SAAKASHVILI
  Seats won in last election: 130
• Coalition: Georgian Dream / ქართული ოცნება–დემოკრატიული საქართველო, k'art'uli ots'neba–demokratiuli sak'art'velo**
  Leader: Bidzina IVANISHVILI
  Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: Christian Democratic Movement (CDM) / ქრისტიანულ-დემოკრატიული მოძრაობა, k’ristianul-demokratiuli modzraoba (KDM)
  Leader: Giorgi TARGAMADZE
  Seats won in last election: 6

** The Georgian Dream Coalition consists of Our Georgia-Free Democrats, the Republican Party, National Forum, the Conservative Party and Industry Will Save Georgia and the Georgian Dream political party itself.

More info: BBC, EG, CNN

NATO’s partners in the South Caucasus

On 6 and 7 September NATO’s Secretary General visited the South Caucasus – a region that is strategically important to the Alliance. NATO has been progressively deepening dialogue and cooperation with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia since the early 1990s. All three partners provide valuable support to NATO-led operations, while benefiting from NATO support for security and defence-related capacity building and reform.

The South Caucasus is a crossroads of civilizations, situated between the Black Sea to the west, the Caspian Sea to the east and bordering Turkey, Russia and Iran. The region has been of considerable geostrategic importance through the ages – and continues to be so today.
The region borders the territory of a NATO member state and includes Georgia, a country aspiring to join the Alliance. It also offers useful alternative transit options for the transport of supplies to and from the NATO-led force in Afghanistan.

Shared security concerns

The Allies and their partners in the South Caucasus face the same security challenges, such as terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Such threats defy borders and can only be addressed effectively through international cooperation.
Energy security is an important security issue of shared concern. The South Caucasus sits on key oil and gas transit routes, and has significant oil and gas reserves. Energy-importing countries are looking to diversify their energy sources and supply routes, while energy-exporting and transit countries need to ensure the security of their industry and pipeline infrastructure.
One serious concern are the protracted conflicts in the region. Following a conflict between ethnic Armenians and Azerbaijanis from 1988 to 1994, the sides agreed a cease fire in May 1994. However, a political settlement still needs to be found. The Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions of Georgia continue to be sources of tension, in particular following the conflict with Russia in August 2008.
NATO does not seek a direct role in the resolution of these conflicts, but supports the efforts of other international organizations, which have specific mandates for their mediation roles.The peaceful resolution of conflict is a core value of NATO and is at the heart of the commitments that NATO’s partners in the South Caucasus undertook when they joined the Partnership for Peace.

Valued support for operations

All three Caucasus partners have provided valuable support for NATO-led operations. Armenia has been contributing troops to the Kosovo Force (KFOR) since 2004. It first deployed personnel in support of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in 2010 and increased its deployment from 40 to 126 in 2011.
Having actively supported KFOR in the past, Azerbaijan currently has 94 personnel deployed in support of ISAF. The country also supports ISAF’s mission with over-flight rights and has contributed to the development of Afghan national security forces through financial support and training in de-mining.
Today, with around 800 military personnel deployed in Afghanistan, Georgia is the second largest non-NATO ISAF troop contributing nation and planned deployments this autumn will make it the largest. The country also supports Operation Active Endeavour, NATO’s counter-terrorist maritime surveillance operation in the Mediterranean. Georgia also contributed to KFOR in the past.
All three countries are actively working towards the development of units that meet NATO standards and that can in future participate in international peacekeeping operations.

Deepening partnership

Bilateral partnership programmes with NATO allow each of the Caucasus partners to draw on Allied expertise in adapting their defence institutions and capabilities to deal with security challenges. In the past decade, all three countries have chosen to deepen the level of cooperation and tighten the focus on their respective reform priorities.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have both developed Individual Partnership Action Plans with NATO. In the case of Georgia – following a dialogue with the Alliance about its membership aspirations and the declaration by Allies at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that the country will become a member – intensified cooperation is now being taken forward through the unique framework of the NATO-Georgia Commission that was established in September 2008.
Beyond cooperating on security and defence-related capacity building and reform, NATO and its partners in the South Caucasus work together in other areas such as border security, cyber security, and disaster preparedness and response.
Partnership has also brought some tangible benefits for citizens in the Caucasus countries. For example, in Armenia – a country prone to earthquakes – NATO provides training to improve the search-and-rescue capabilities. In Azerbaijan and Georgia, NATO has supported projects to clear and safely dispose of large numbers of dangerous, unexploded and obsolete landmines and munitions.

Source: Nato.int

Conclusions on the customs cooperation with eastern neighbouring countries

"THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION NOTING THAT:

The European Neighbourhood Policy, the Eastern Partnership and the EU-Russia Partnership for Modernisation are priorities of the European Union aimed at establishing an institutional framework for a closer political and economic cooperation between the EU and its Eastern Neighbour countries;

HAVING REGARD TO:

• the Partnership and Cooperation Agreements concluded between the EU and its Member States and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Moldova, Russia and Ukraine;
• the Council conclusions on the European Neighbourhood Policy adopted by the Council on 20 June 2011;
• the strong commitment of the EU and its Eastern European Partners to further enhance the political association and economic integration which is confirmed by the Eastern Partnership and the negotiations of association and Deep And Comprehensive Free Trade Areas (DCFTA); 
• the Joint Declaration of the Eastern Partnership Summit in Warsaw, 29-30 September 2011 concerning in particular the agreement to further enhance the cooperation in the areas of integrated border management, fight against drugs, organised crime and corruption; 
• Strategic frameworks for customs cooperation with Russia and, when endorsed, with Belarus, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine; 
• the conclusions of the meetings on Customs Cooperation at the Eastern Border of the EU, in particular the High Level Seminar held in Budapest on 14-15 April 2011 and  the High Level Seminar “Towards better cooperation” held in Cracow on 19-21 October 2011;  
• the Commission Action Plan to fight against smuggling of cigarettes and alcohol along the EU Eastern border
• the Council conclusions on a strategy to prepare certain neighbouring countries for accession to the 1987 EC-EFTA Conventions on a common transit procedure and the simplification of formalities in trade in goods;  
• the ongoing European Union efforts to combat the smuggling of highly taxed goods, in particular the large scale investigations coordinated by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), the Agreements concluded by the EU and Member States with tobacco manufacturers, the regional and cross-border measures under the Eastern Partnership, the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument as well as the role played by the EU Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM)

WITH A VIEW TO FOCUSING ON THE FOLLOWING PRIORITY AREAS OF COOPERATION AS AGREED IN BUDAPEST AND IN CRACOW:

• developing safe and fluid trade lanes;
• promoting risk management and the fight against fraud;
• investing in customs modernisation in the region; 

INVITES THE COMMISSION AND THE MEMBER STATES TO COOPERATE WITH THE EASTERN NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES WITH A VIEW TO:

1.  Develop safe and fluid trade lanes, in particular by:

• giving support to the countries in the region in their preparations for the extension of the Common Transit Convention and the Convention on the simplification of formalities in trade in goods which are powerful instruments for trade facilitation, for increasing the harmonisation of procedures and to convey economic integration;
• considering assistance in the development of reliable and compatible authorised economic operators systems in the Eastern neighbouring countries and later on the mutual recognition thereof;
• enhancing coordination at the border including the creation of fast lanes and the development of infrastructure where applicable;
• supporting initiatives of Member States that facilitate speedy transportation of goods through the EU Eastern border. 

2.  Promote risk management and the fight against fraud, in particular by:

• cooperating in developing and improving risk management systems and methods of risk analysis, including in order to increase the performance in the application of security and safety measures and to prevent smuggling of highly taxed goods and valuation fraud; 
• developing exchanges of information on a sound legal basis to facilitate trade and strengthen risk management, beginning by studying needs, building on the experience of past and current schemes of information exchange such as pilot projects;  
• organising joint actions targeting risk areas and/or identified illicit trade routes in the region; 
• stepping up actions to fight against smuggling of cigarettes and alcohol along the EU Eastern border; 
• launching a study to identify the information useful to exchange and the ways of transmission, to strengthen risk management and improve customs controls with the view of establishing safe and fluid trade lines as well as fighting fraud.

3. Foster customs modernisation, in particular by:

• assisting the countries in the region in capacity building, including development and implementation of customs modernisation strategies;  
• cooperating to facilitate convergence of customs legislation and procedures in line with the objectives of free trade area agreements currently negotiated or foreseen. 

4. Explore the possible use of available assistance mechanisms for these purposes, such as: 

• Customs 20133and its successor programme;
• Hercule II and its successor programme;
• Twinning and other assistance projects;
• Programmes for regional and trans-border cooperation;
• EU Border Assistance Mission.

5. Seek to prepare and adopt the Strategic Frameworks as instruments to strengthen the customs cooperation with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

6. Continue the dialogue between the EU and Eastern neighbouring countries by setting up regular dedicated customs fora.

INVITES THE COMMISSION TO:

• evaluate the progress achieved in the agreed priority areas;
• report to the Council on the progress in order for the Council to propose a follow up to the above actions by the end of 2013."

 Source: www.consilium.europa.eu

Press release 2897th meeting of the Council General Affairs and External Relations

Conclusies bijeenkomst Raad van Ministers van 15 september over Wit-Rusland, Oezbekistan en Georgië

The Council noted with satisfaction that, following the deployment by the EU of a civilian observer mission in Georgia, Russian troops had withdrawn from the zones adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia. This was an additional step in the implementation of the agreements of 12 August and 8 September, which were concluded with the mediation of the European Union following the conflict last summer. The Council reaffirmed the willingness of the EU to take an active part in the international discussions on Georgia, which are set to commence on 15 October in Geneva under the auspices of the EU, the UN and the OSCE. These discussions must focus on all the remaining problems, in particular that concerning arrangements for security and stability in the region and the urgent question of displaced persons. The Council further noted with satisfaction that some progress had been made, compared with previous elections, during the recent electoral campaign in Belarus, even though the parliamentary elections held on 28 September failed to meet the democratic criteria of the OSCE. In this context, it hoped for gradual re-engagement with this country and decided to restore the contacts which it had restricted in November 2004. A meeting between the Council troika and the Belarusian Minister for Foreign Affairs took place in the margins of the meeting. Moreover, in order to encourage dialogue with the Belarusian authorities and the adoption of measures to strengthen democracy and respect for human rights, the Council decided that the travel restrictions currently imposed on certain leading figures would not apply for a period of six months which may be reviewed. At the end of that period, the Council will reconsider the situation in the light of the progress made by the Belarusian authorities. In the case of Uzbekistan, the Council welcomed the progress achieved in the last year with regard to respect for the rule of law and the protection of human rights, while remaining concerned about the situation in some domains. It called on the Uzbek authorities to fulfil all their obligations in this respect and is prepared to assist Uzbekistan in its reforming efforts. In this context, it decided not to renew the travel restrictions applying to certain individuals, which had been suspended in October 2007 and April 2008, but would be renewing the arms embargo for a period of 12 months.