EU Delays Suspension of Financial Assistance to Georgia

(Tbilisi, July 1, Civil Georgia) – The European Union (EU) postpones suspending of the financial and technical assistance to Georgia for three weeks, reliable source in Georgian Foreign Ministry told the Civil Georgia on July 1.  

The EU intention to suspend financial assistance to Georgia is connected to the kidnapping of the British citizen, co-director of the Agro-Business Bank of Georgia Peter Shaw on June 18, who is still detained by the kidnappers.

The EU supports Georgia through Tacis technical assistance program. The financial aid of the EU to Georgia consists 44 million Euros in 2002.

It seems that the EU gives Georgia three-week term for investigation Shaw’s abduction case. Georgian officials in the law enforcement agencies say that they have enough information to investigate the case successfully.

The Agro-business Bank of Georgia was created in 2000 and is the EU funded project, and is the successor to the EU funded Regional Agricultural Reform Project (RARP1) credit component. Peter Shaw is co-director and the head of the experts’ group of assistance project of the bank in the frames of the Tacis (technical assistance program of EU).