NATO Outlines Georgia’s Reform Targets

NATO said it would “watch closely” Georgia’s defense and political reform efforts and pledged “to maximize” the alliance’s assistance in the process.

This assistance, the alliance, said would take place in the framework of the NATO-Georgia Commission, “which has a central role to play in supervising the process set in hand at the Bucharest Summit” in April, 2008, when the NATO leaders decided that Georgia would some day become the member state.

An Annual National Programme will be developed to advance Georgia’s reforms, which will be annually reviewed by NATO allies.

NATO-Georgia Commission (NGC), which was established in September, 2008, was held on the foreign ministerial level in Brussels on December 3.

“They [allies] acknowledged Georgia’s efforts to continue to improve elections, political pluralism, and judicial professionalism and independence,” a statement released after NGC session, reads.

It also says that the NATO foreign ministers had also “encouraged Georgia to continue pushing forward with deeper reforms, in particular in the areas of electoral reform, transparency and accountability in government, media freedom, and functioning of the rule of law.”

“NATO Ministers encouraged Georgia to continue reforms in the defence and security sphere, starting with a thorough lessons-learned process from the recent conflict [in August], and then incorporating those lessons into the planned comprehensive review of security documents,” the statement reads.

NATO foreign ministers have also said that Georgia should continue efforts to improve the system of military personnel management; transparency of the defence budget and interoperability of its forces with those of NATO allies.

“Ministers expressed their commitment to assist Georgia in its defence reform efforts as it seeks to achieve NATO standards,” the statement said.

During the NGC, Georgian Foreign Minister, Eka Tkeshelashvili, outlined, as the statement puts it, “renewed efforts” by the Georgian government to implement democratic reforms in order to move closer to NATO integration.

Minister Tkeshelashvili also called on NATO member states for their assistance in ensuring full implementation of ceasefire agreements by Russia and reiterated Tbilisi’s “intention to participate fully and transparently” in the EU-led inquiry into the August war.

At NGC session, NATO foreign ministers reiterated that they condemned Russia’s recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and called for “full implementation” of the ceasefire agreements.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)