EU Enlargement Commissioner Visits Tbilisi, Inaugurates European School

The Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn, who is visiting Tbilisi on September 16, met with Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, and discussed further deepening of EU-Georgia relations.

At the meeting, Hahn and Gakharia spoke of the “concrete steps” of implementation of the Association Agreement and its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) trade regime as well as the benefits of the visa free travel regime.

PM Gakharia later said at a joint news briefing that Georgia appreciates EU’s role in regulation of the Russo-Georgia conflict as well. He said the EUMM mandate should be covering the entire country, including the occupied territories to ensure that the basic human rights and security of population on the ground are protected.

On his part, Commissioner Hahn said, EU remains “a strong supporter of Georgia’s successful reform process and efforts.” “We agreed on the need to keep up these efforts particularly with regard to rule of law and the further reform of the judiciary,” he stated.

Earlier today, Hahn and Gakharia inaugurated the first European School outside the EU borders in Tbilisi, which will lead to establishment of a school for students from the six Eastern European partner countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.

“The very first fully-fledged” European School will be established at Lisi Lake in Tbilisi with the support of the European Union, where the school is expected to open its doors to the first cohort of students in 2023. According to the EU, this initiative is based on a pilot scholarship program with a focus on European Studies launched last year and designated for students aged 16 and 17 from the EaP countries.

“The School will be functioning under Georgian national law and will offer a unique curriculum that meets the high demands of the Georgian, European and international education systems,” Hahn stated.

As part of his visit to Georgia, the EU Commissioner is holding meetings with Foreign Minister Davit Zalkaliani, Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze and the Chairs of parliamentary committees on European integration and foreign relations, Tamar Khulordava and Sofio Katsarava, respectively.

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