georgia’s democratic transformation

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GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION TRANSFORMATION Office of the State Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Tbilisi, August 2006 Tel: +(995 32) 932867 Fax +(995 32) 995467 www.eu-nato.gov.ge [email protected]

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GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION. Office of the State Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Tbilisi, August 2006. Tel: +(995 32) 932867. www.eu-nato.gov.ge [email protected]. Fax +(995 32) 995467. STRATEGIC GOALS. Building a strong, united & stable Democracy - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATIONTRANSFORMATION

Office of the State Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration

Tbilisi, August 2006

Tel: +(995 32) 932867

Fax +(995 32) 995467

www.eu-nato.gov.ge

[email protected]

Page 2: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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STRATEGIC GOALSSTRATEGIC GOALS

Building a strong, united & stable Democracy

Euro-Atlantic Integrationshort term – NATO membership long term – Increased Cooperation with EU

Page 3: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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OBJECTIVESOBJECTIVES

Peaceful Conflict Resolution

Human Rights, Rule of Law and Good Governance

Economic Development

Security Sector Reform

Page 4: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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MECHANISMSMECHANISMS

Government Action Plan of Reforms 2006-2009

Individual Partnership Action Plan with NATO, 2004-2006

European Neighborhood Policy Action Plan, to be signed in October 2006

Page 5: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

IPAP IMPLEMENTATION COORDINATION MECHANISMIPAP IMPLEMENTATION COORDINATION MECHANISM

Prime MinisterChairman

Secretary of NationalSecurity CouncilMinistry of

Justice

Ministry ofEconomic Development

Minister of Environmental ProtectionAnd Natural Resources

Chairman ofForeign Relations

Committee of Parliament

Chairman ofEuropean Integration

Committee of Parliament

Chairman ofDefence and Security

Committee of Parliament

Chief ofGeneral StaffArmed Forces

Political Issues

Working Group #1

Administrative,Protective Security

and Resource Issues

Working Group #6Science Co-operation Issues

Working Group #5

Economic Development and

Fight Against Corruption

Working Group #2

Deputy Minister(WG Leader)

Deputy Minister(WG Leader)

Deputy Minister(WG Leader)

Deputy Minister(WG Leader)

National SecurityCouncil

State Minister on Reforms

Co-ordination

Defense, Securityand Military Issues

Working Group #3

Deputy Minister(WG Leader)

Combating Terrorismand Civil Emergency

Planning

Working Group #4

Deputy Minister(WG Leader)

Minister ofEducation and

ScienceMinister of Defence

Minister ofInterior

Minister ofFinance

State Ministeron European and Euro-Atlantic Integration

Deputy Chairman

Minister ofForeign Affairs

Page 6: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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Prime MinisterChairman

Minister of AgricultureMinister of

Justice

Minister ofEconomic Development

Minister of Environmental ProtectionAnd Natural Resources

Minister of Health, Labor and

Social Protection

Head of Mission to European Communities

Invited Representatives from the Parliament

State Minister on Conflict Resolution

GEPLAC

State Minister on Reforms

Co-ordination

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Inter-Agency Working GroupDeputy Ministers from Respective Line Ministries

Minister ofEducation and

ScienceMinister of Energy

Minister ofInterior

Minister ofFinance

State Ministeron European and Euro-Atlantic Integration

Deputy Chairman(Secretariat of the Commission)

Minister of Culture

EU Support

Ministry ofForeign Affairs

Deputy Chairman

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EU Integration MachineryEU Integration MachineryGovernmental Commission on EUGovernmental Commission on EU Integration

Page 7: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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PEACEFUL CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Ajara, Georgia:

Rule of law and central government jurisdiction re-established in Ajara Region of Georgia after peaceful uprising against corrupt and authoritarian local leader in May 2004

Revival:

All pension and wage arrears (GEL 4,6 ml) paid out in 2004

23% growth of regional budget revenues in 2005

Transfers from central government increased by GEL 4,6 ml

Investment growth by GEL 5 ml in 2003-2006

87% growth of number of tourists in 2004-2005

Page 8: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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PEACEFUL CONFLICT RESOLUTION

South Ossetia/Tskhinvali Region, Georgia:

January 2005 – Georgia’s President’s Peace Initiative on Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia

July 2005 - Georgia’s Peace Plan for resolution of Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia conflict– unanimous approval by OSCE (Ljubljana Ministerial December 2005)

DemilitarizationSocial and Economic Rehabilitation /Confidence

BuildingRenewing of Political Negotiations on Conflict

Resolution

Page 9: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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PEACEFUL CONFLICT RESOLUTION

February 2006 - Georgia’s unilateral peaceful measures:

Demilitarization of the conflict zoneLaw on Rehabilitation and Restitution of property of

victims of the Conflict approved by the parliament

June 2006 - 12 Million Euros will be allocated by the EU member countries and the US in joint Georgian-Ossetian project for the social and economic rehabilitation of the region. Equivalent amount will be allocated by the Georgian government

Page 10: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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PEACEFUL CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Abkhazia, Georgia:

October 2005 - Parliament of Georgia requested the government to present a Peace Plan for the resolution of the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia

July 2006 – After successful Police Operation in Upper Abkhazia (Kodori Gorge) law and order was reestablished in this part of Abkhazia, Georgia

Page 11: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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PEACEFUL CONFLICT RESOLUTION

July 2006 – As part of the efforts to Internationalise the Peace Keeping in the Conflict Regions, Parliament of Georgia passed a Resolution on the withdrawal of CIS Peacekeepers from both South Ossetia/Tskhinvali and Abkhazia Conflict Regions of Georgia

Georgia seeks good neighborly relations with Russia, as both countries have common objective interest in fighting aggressive separatism. Role of the EU is decisive in the engaging Russia positively in the Peace Process

Page 12: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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HUMAN RIGHTS

UN Convention Against Torture ratified in July 2005

Public Defender entrusted with monitoring of the penitentiary establishments

Drastic decrease of cases of ill-treatment and abuse of prisoners’ rights

New international standard prisons built

Page 13: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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HUMAN RIGHTS

Framework Convention on National Minorities ratified by the Parliament, October 2005

Comprehensive Concept on the State Policy on Protection and Integration of Minorities elaborated by the Parliament, September 2005

The Parliament of Georgia adopted a legislative package on Human Trafficking, April 2006

Freedom of Speech is guaranteed by one of the most liberal Media legislations in Europe. Latest law adopted in June 2004 provides even greater protection to journalists

Amendments to the Civil Code enable Religious Organizations to register as legal entities, April 2005

Page 14: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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RULE OF LAWJudiciary Reform

Free and Fair Courts of Law:

Prosecutor General no longer has a seat in Justice Council and additional seats are provided for judges, who now have a majority in the Council

New Criminal Procedure Code elaborated - open and free court system that guarantees equality before law

The court is given a mechanism of control over the breach of privacy of citizens from the side of the authorities

Appearance before judge within 24 hours, instead of 48 hours, after arrest

Witnesses will not need to testify before the trial starts

Page 15: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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RULE OF LAWJudiciary Reform

Effective Administration of Justice:

Reorganization of Court System 2005-2007

Introduction of sequential order of Court Instances (District Court, Court of Appeals, Supreme Court)

Establishment of 18 larger district (city) courts

Introduction of 48 specialized Magistrate Judges in criminal , civil and administrative cases

Page 16: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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RULE OF LAWJudiciary Reform

Effective Administration of Justice:

In accordance with the recommendations of international experts Higher Justice School for training and re-qualification of judges has been established

Revision of the verdict when new evidence is found will be made by the court of appeals

Creation of integrated virtual network that will provide integral document circulation, case management, and establishment of common judiciary practice

Substantial rise in the salaries of the judges

Total refurbishment of court buildings

Page 17: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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RULE OF LAWJudiciary Reform

Transparency of the Courts:

Introduction of Speaker Judges is an important mechanism relationship between the Court and the public

Facilities have been installed in all Court session halls for video and audio recording of trials, and preparation of quality electronic material from media and public

Page 18: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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RULE OF LAWAnti-Corruption Efforts

Action Plan of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy of Georgia

(March 2006)

Specific Anti-Corruption Measures

Enhancement of the Overall Mechanism

of Fighting Corruption

International Commitments

Anti-Corruption Strategy of Georgia

(June 2005)

Page 19: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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RULE OF LAWAnti-Corruption Efforts

Number of high level officials arrested as a part of anti-corruption campaign

Reform in the police is a success – from one of the most corrupt agencies, police now enjoys overwhelming (75%) public trust

Significant increase of salaries of public servants

Page 20: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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RULE OF LAW Anti-Corruption Efforts

International Evaluation

According to 2006 World Bank report “Anticorruption in Transition 3” Georgia saw the largest reduction in corruption among all transition countries from 2002-2005

In EBRD Transition Report 2005 Georgia is Second (after Slovak Republic) among the Countries with Transition Economies in terms of improvements related to corruption

According to EBRD, the rate for Georgia in the Bribe Tax was reduced from 2.7 to 0,5 (Mature Market economies)

Page 21: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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GOOD GOVERNANCE

Structural Reforms in the Government:

Number of ministries reduced from 18 to 13

Number of government agencies reduced from 52 to 3

Introduction of new, objective and universal professional selection criteria for Public Service

Page 22: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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GOOD GOVERNANCE

Strengthening Local Self-Governance:

European Charter on Local Self-Governance ratified in October 2004

2005-2006 Parliament adopted series of laws on Local Self-Governance

New legislation decentralizes administrative, budgetary and property management powers to the local self-government entities

Local Government Elections will be held on 5 October 2006

Voters’ Lists are being reviewed by the Election Commission

Majority of Venice Commission recommendations on the amendments to the Election Code accepted

Page 23: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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GOOD GOVERNANCE

International Evaluation

In 2006 State of World Liberty Index data Georgia holds the 58th position among the 166 countries.

(The ranking is based on three criteria: individual freedom, economic freedom and government size and taxation)

Page 24: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Liberalization

Deregulation of economy and intensive privatization

New Liberal Tax Code introduced: number of taxes reduced from 21 to 7. VAT reduced from 20% to 18%, Income tax reduced from 20% to 12 % Social Tax reduced from 33 to 20%

New Law on Customs Duties adopted, July 2006

Draft Custom Code presented to the Parliament

Page 25: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Liberalization

Modernization and simplification of the system of business licensing

“One stop shop” for businesses

“One stop shop” for custom procedures

Page 26: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Trade Policy

Low import tariff system to be introduced in September 2006, with 0% rate on majority of import goods, 5% and 12% rates on few variety of goods

Reduction of the Number of Export/Import Licenses from

14 to 8

Recognition of OECD and European Council Technical Regulation in Trade

Page 27: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Trade Regimes

Most Favored Nation Tariffs with WTO Members

GSP + scheme granted by the EU (Georgia being one of two beneficiaries of the scheme in CIS)

GSP scheme granted by the USA, Canada, Switzerland and Japan

Free Trade Agreement with 8 CIS members

Page 28: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1,8

4,85,5

8,6

6,2

9,3

0

2,5

5

7,5

10

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Real GDP Growth

Page 29: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

2003 2004 2005

turnover

Foreign Trade Growth (million USD)

54.3%

34.3%

1620

2500

3358

Page 30: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

131 110 107

61

109

231

139

360

183

264

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Other FDI BTC share

Increase in Foreign Direct Investments (million USD)

Page 31: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Estimated Real

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Increase in the State Budget Revenues (million GEL)

11541049 1216 1239

3428

30683256

2842

22831926

Page 32: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Social Policy

State budget surplus GEL 471 ml in 2006

8 times increase in financing education and 3 times increase in healthcare as well as social programmes in the 2006 budget as compared to the 2003 budget

1.6 times increase in the average salary of public employees from 2003 to 2005

2.4 times increase in pensions

Pension and wage arrears, accumulated over a period of 6 years, paid up. Pensions to grow 30 % by September 2006

Improvement in infrastructure throughout the country

Page 33: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

International Evaluation

According to the World Bank, Georgia ranks 1st in the world for the intensity of reforms in 2006, moving from the 2nd position in 2005

According to the World Bank’s Doing Business Economic Ranking Georgia ranks 37th in 2006 in terms of business environment, moving from the 100th position in 2005

EBRD Transition Report 2005 ranks Georgia as a best performing economy in terms of its success in improving Tax Administration

Described as “mostly free”, Georgia’s Economy was ranked 68th among 161 countries of the world by the Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal Index of Economic Freedom, following those of Czech Republic, Israel, Spain and Greece

The WB, IMF and other international financial organizations assess Georgian Financial Indicators for 2005 as successful

Page 34: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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SECURITY SECTOR REFORMLaw Enforcement

Border Management:

EU Special Representative’s Office in Georgia successful cooperation in process of Border Management reform

Border Guard was transformed from a paramilitary force into a police type agency

Significant increase of Border Police budget (from 21 ml in 2005 to 34 ml 2006)

Budget of the Border Police has been decentralized to the level of regional units

Joint Technical Scheme of Border and Customs Management has been elaborated

Border Police Faculty has been established in the Police Academy

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SECURITY SECTOR REFORMLaw Enforcement

Illegal Migration/Human Trafficking:

New Law on Human Trafficking adopted by the Parliament, April 2006

Government Action Plan on fight against Human Trafficking 2005-2006 under implementation

Database of victims of human trafficking and of traffickers has been created, March 2006

Draft Programme of Psychological and Medical Support to the Victims of Human Trafficking has been elaborated

Page 36: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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SECURITY SECTOR REFORM Defence

Process of SDR development is in advanced stage

All necessary conceptual documents are in place: National Military Strategy Threat Assessment Visions of the Minister of Defence and of the Chief of the

General Staff Priorities of Defence Policy in 2006

Structural changes have been conducted: Responsibilities between the Ministry of Defence and General

Staff have been clearly divided

Page 37: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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SECURITY SECTOR REFORM Defence

In 2004-06 defence budget increased significantly

Social conditions of the personnel have improved

Since 2003 salaries increased by 113%

All major infrastructure has been renovated or rebuilt

Reformation of all defence structures and management systems according to the NATO recommendations is ongoing

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SECURITY SECTOR REFORM Defence

Significant progress has been achieved in improving the human resource management, logistics and military education systems

Interoperability with NATO and partner countries units increased significantly

Appropriate legislation and structures to ensure democratic control over the armed forces are in place

Defence budget is transparent and open to the public

Page 39: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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SECURITY SECTOR REFORM Defence

Land Forces Command has been created

Education Command has been formed

General Staff in process of transformation into the Joint Staff

Language training system was updated based on NATO recommendations

New law on Defence Planning to be approved

Planning, Programming and Budgeting System (PPBS) is under development with support of the Ministries of Defence of Netherlands and Romania

Page 40: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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SECURITY SECTOR REFORM Defence

Growth of Defence Expenditure(Million GEL)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

2004 2005 2006

181

315

614

Page 41: GEORGIA’S DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

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PRIORITIESPRIORITIES

Implementation of Peace Plan/Continuation of Unilateral Efforts

Judiciary Reform

Defence Reform

Open, Free and Fair Local Elections in December 2006