Page 12 - GEORptSep22

added: “Over the past nine years, we, the team left by the same Bidzina Ivanishvili, and his party [Georgian Dream], have drawn up all the important steps of the strategic document, which actually brought us closer to Europe,” he said.
Georgia submitted the second part of the EU questionnaire on 10 May, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Georgian government handed over the first part of the questionnaire to the European Union on 2 May. Georgia and Moldova applied for EU membership on March 3 alongside Ukraine. Prior to this, the Georgian government intended to formally apply for membership in 2024.
The ruling party has generated bad publicity in recent months over the treatment of jailed former president and United National Movement (UNM) founder Mikheil Saakashvili, its refusal to join sanctions against Russia, Mtavari Arkhi TV's director Nika Gvaramia's arrest, and the European Parliament's call to sanction ex-PM Bidzina Ivanishvili.
2.8 US working with Georgia to prevent Russia evading sanctions
The US is working with Georgian partners to counter any attempts by Russia to circumvent the international sanctions imposed due to the Ukraine invasion, the Ambassador to the United States in Georgia, Kelly Degnan, said on July 28.
"Our Georgian partners work with us to ensure that Georgia is not being used for sanctions evasion. We see that the sanctions are having an effect. For them to have maximum impact and pressure the Kremlin to stop attacking Ukraine, it is essential that we work together to close all loopholes," Degnan said in an interview with Interpressnews.
Ukrainian officials have several times accused the Georgian government of supporting Russia to circumvent sanctions through the use of the Georgian territory and banks, allegations strongly condemned by the ruling Georgian Dream authorities, demanding evidence to prove the "unfounded accusations". Kyiv has not shown any proof of their allegations.
2.9 Polls & Sociology
Georgia’s business confidence index increased by 2.6 points in Q3
Georgia's business confidence index (BCI) increased by 2.6 index points and reached 17.7 during the third quarter of 2022.
The highest increase in business confidence was in the construction sector, an increase of 13.8 points.
The positive change in the BCI for Q3 2022 was driven by improved past performance, reads the latest publication of ISET Policy Institute, an independent economic policy think tank in Georgia focusing on the South Caucasus. The Past Performance Index, which considers the business sector's assessment of their economic performance in the previous quarter, increased by 16.2 points compared to Q2 2022 and reached 6.7 for Q3 2022, with the service (38.7) and construction (30.8) sectors showing the most significant improvements.
The Expectations Index, which reflects business optimism, decreased,
12 GEORGIA Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com