Page 29 - GEORptFeb22

5.3 FTAs
EU Commission increases assistance package for Eastern Partnership countries from €40mn to €75mn
Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova sign joint declaration committing to EU integration
The EU Commission has increased the assistance package for the six Eastern Partnership countries from €40mn to €75mn in order to “deploy safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines and speed up the vaccination campaigns.”
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine will receive the additional €35mn “to substantially increase access to vaccines in the Eastern Partnership region amid the global vaccine shortage.”
This assistance complements the EU's support to the Covax initiative, the world facility to ensure fair and universal access to Covid-19 vaccines and work towards an equitable and transparent distribution of vaccines over the Eastern Partner countries,” says the statement.
The EU Commission announced that €35mn comes in addition to the first package of support worth €40mn, launched in February, which aimed to “strengthen preparedness and local readiness for safe and effective vaccination of the population” in the six Eastern Partnership countries.
A Commission statement also said that the EU support includes the training of health managers and medical staff who are involved in the vaccination campaign.
The leaders of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova signed a declaration on July 20 in Georgia's Batumi committing to EU integration.
This comes amid a growing rift between the EU and Georgia over recent political developments, with tensions high over the ongoing government response to extremists who violently forced the cancellation of the Tbilisi Pride event.
The presidents of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, Salome Zurabishvili, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Maia Sandu, respectively, signed in the presence of European Council President Charles Michel a trilateral cooperation declaration on European integration, in which the heads of state pledge to work together for a “peaceful, democratic and prosperous European future” for the three nations.
It reaffirms an “unwavering commitment to advance further the process of our integration into the European Union through comprehensive reforms to strengthen our democratic institutions, and to progressively approximate our legislation in the relevant sectors with key elements of the EU acquis.” Pledging to make full use of the Association Agreements, the three signatories vow to work to identify concrete priorities in the areas of common interest to enhance political dialogue and advance on economic and sectoral integration with the EU, in particular in the areas of transport, energy, digital transformation, green economy, justice and home affairs, strategic communications and health care.
The three countries also pledge to cooperate with the European Union on common security and defence policy (CSDP), including on countering hybrid threats, strengthening cyber resilience, fighting disinformation, developing cooperation platforms with the EU’s relevant agencies and services, and to participate in CSDP missions and operations and bring contribution to the EU’s efforts towards peace in the world.
Touching upon the Black Sea security, the three states pledge to engage with Black Sea partners in order to “jointly promote the sustainable development of the region, as well as make full use of the opportunities that the Black Sea provides for wider and secure connectivity between Europe and Asia.”
29 GEORGIA Country Report February 2022 www.intellinews.com