Laurence Meredith, the European Commission's Director for Relations with the Eastern Neighborhood and Institution Building, names the five pillars that the EU is focused on financing in upcoming years in Georgia. According to him, Georgia will receive significant financial support from the EU in the areas of transport, digital technologies, regional development, small business promotion and the environment.
These projects are part of the € 3.9 billion financial assistance that Georgia will receive in the form of loans and grants from the European Union in the coming years. The European Union itself has introduced a multibillion-dollar funding package for the Eastern Partnership member states in the summer of 2021.
“In the course of our visit we will be launching five flagship initiatives for Georgia. The first two flagship projects concern the Black Sea and we will be looking at connectivity both in terms of transport, but also digital.
Strengthening Black Sea Connectivity is a priority for the relations between the European Union and Georgia. Through our new Economic and Investment Plan, we will create jobs for young people, improve transport links and strengthen digital connectivity.
The third - we plan to help 1,000 villages gain access to high-speed Internet connections to ensure that Georgia keeps abreast of global technological change.
We support 80,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in the coming years and we want to take full advantage of Georgia's deep and comprehensive free trade agreement with the European Union.
The fifth flagship is air quality, we know that this is a challenge both in Tbilisi and in some other cities of Georgia, so we are going to help millions of citizens to breathe fresh air,” said Director Lawrence Meredith.
