European Integration

Presentation of the Survey Report: Knowledge and Attitudes toward the European Union in Georgia (2011)

The program is aiming at contributing to the process of Georgia’s integration into the European Union (EU) and wider participation of civil society in the process of alignment with European institutions through monitoring of the integration process, advocacy for reforms, and public awareness campaign. It is expected that the project will (1) increase collaboration among stakeholder groups, including citizens, NGOs, issue interest groups, local business, the media, and public officials on European integration issues, (2) strengthen the capacity of stakeholders working on the EU integration issues, (3) increase alignment of Georgian policies and laws to EU standards, and (4) increase knowledge and awareness of the population on EU-Georgia relations and European values.

Program Description

• Monitoring of and advocacy for the implementation of obligations assumed by the Government of Georgia in the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy Action Plan (ENP AP). EPF focuses its monitoring on the issues related to the negotiations of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) between Georgia and the European Union. EPF also commissions reports that analyze the reforms and regulations in the fields of trade, investment, food safety, customs, public procurement, intellectual property rights, and other. EPF broadly publicizes research findings and advocates for fulfillment of recommendations outlined by the reports.

• Public awareness campaign on Georgia’s European integration efforts, including EU institutions, standards, and values. EPF supports regular public discussions (including TV and radio talk shows) on issues related to European integration, which cover wide range of topics within the framework of EU-Georgia cooperation agenda and involve representatives from all stakeholder groups.

• Measuring the public awareness. Through its Caucasus Research and Resource Center (CRRC), EPF conducts opinion polls ascertaining the attitudes of the Georgian population toward the European integration. These surveys serve as valuable sources of information for designing interventions in this area and are freely available to all interested stakeholders.

• Mobilization of different interest groups. EPF strives to raise awareness of and mobilize the different interest groups (such as consumers, employees, etc.), to ensure their participation in the elaboration and implementation of various mechanisms for increased protection of their rights in line with the European standards.

Public Opinion Polls

On January 16, 2012, Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF) held a presentation of the survey report: Knowledge and Attitudes toward the European Union in Georgia.

EPF’s Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC) carried out the baseline survey to study Georgia’s knowledge and attitudes toward the EU in 2009 and on July 7-18, 2011, conducted a follow-up assessment. Based on the results from the 2009 and 2011 surveys, the report provides information on if and how things have changed over the past two years.

The survey report and data set are given below:

Knowledge and Attitudes toward the European Union in Georgia (2011)-Survey Report ( (3.47 MBytes)

Knowledge and Attitudes toward the European Union in Georgia (2011)- data set (9.29 MBytes)

On August 1 -10, 2009, Eurasia Partnership Foundation and Caucasus Research Resource Center conducted a a survey on Attitudes towards European Integration in Georgia. It was released on Friday, October 23, 2009.
The main findings from the survey are given below:

Georgian Public Opinion - Attitudes towards European Integration - Narrative Report (2009) (212.48 KBytes)

Georgian Public Opinion - Attitudes towards European Integration - data set ENG (2009) (253.9 KBytes)

European Neigbourhood Policy (ENP) Action Plan

In June, 2008 a survey was carried out with the support of Open Society Georgia
Foundation and Eurasia Partnership Foundation to identify the interests of the civil society in reference to the goals of ENP Action Plan and evaluate the needs and expert potential in the sector.

The survey was prepared within the project – Civil Monitoring of European Neighborhood Policy Action Plan Implementation in Georgia, in 2008.

The Survey of Civil Society In the Context of Monitoring the Implementation of European Neighborhood Policy (289.32 KBytes)

To intensify debates and discussion on the priorities of the ENP Action Plan, Open Society-Georgia Foundation, Heinrich-Boell-Stiftung, and Eurasia Foundation prepared a joint report.

The document is given below:

Civil Society on priorities of the European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan for Georgia for 2007-2009 (74.79 KBytes)

In 2006-2008 Eurasia Partnership Foundation contributed to creation of the web-site, which provided periodic overviews of Georgian-EU relations within the European Neighbourhood Policy as well as the views, analyses and proposals of non-governmental organizations.

Follow the link of the web-site:

www.enp.ge

In 2005, with the support of the Open Society Georgia Foundation, Eurasia Foundation,
and Heinrich Böll Foundation, the group of Georgian NGOs developed a three-year national action plan of Georgia within the framework of the ENP, for consideration of the Government of Georgia.

See the document below:

Recommendations on Georgia’s Action Plan for the European Neighbourhood Policy (August, 2005) (171.28 KBytes)

ENP Policy Papers and Televised Documentaries

In 2008, during Stage II of the ENP Civic Dialogue Program, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia have identified pilot projects in each country in waste management, food standards and safety, and vocational education to be based on the recommendations from the three policy reports and from brainstorming sessions with the research consortiums.

The media component of EPF’s ENP Civic Dialogue Project included the development of four televised documentaries.

The policy papers and the videos are given below:

Policy Papers read here

Videos:

ENP - General Overview (Vocational Education,Waste Management and Food Standards and Safety)

ENP and Vocational Education

ENP and Food Standards and Safety

ENP Progress Reports

In 2010, within the framework of the Foundation’s European Integration Program, a group of distinguished experts prepared a report: Implementation of European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan for Georgia in Trade and Some Trade Related Areas in 2010.

It includes the analysis of the dynamics and structure of Georgia-EU trade relations from 2008 through 2010, a review of the steps taken by the Government of Georgia (GoG) in 2010 in trade and some trade-related areas (investments, customs procedures, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, public procurement, and intellectual property rights), and an independent assessment of the GoG’s activities in the context of both the ENP AP implementation and the launch of negotiations on Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA).

The full version of the report is available in Georgian

Implementation of European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan for Georgia in Trade and Some Trade Related Areas in 2010 (report summary). (351.81 KBytes) (351.81 KBytes)

Roundtables/Newsletters

On 21 April 2011 the Eurasia Partnership Foundation presented its report on “Implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan in Georgia in Trade and Some Trade-related Areas in 2010”. The report was prepared by a group of experts within the framework of the Foundation’s European Integration Programme.

See the newsletter about the presentation:

Newsletter: Implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan in Georgia in Trade and Some Trade-related Areas in 2010 (160.02 KBytes)

On 10 March 2011, Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF) conducted a roundtable discussion on the important reforms undertaken toward ensuring food safety in Georgia, concentrating on the issues of implementation of the new regulations, and future prospects in this area.