EU offers €150 mln COVID-19 support package for Georgia
The proposal comes on top of the ‘Team Europe' strategy, the EU's robust and targeted response to support partner countries' efforts in tackling the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a COVID-19 support package for Georgia comprised of €150 million to help the country limit the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
The proposal comes on top of the ‘Team Europe' strategy, the EU's robust and targeted response to support partner countries' efforts in tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia Carl Hartzell shared this news on his official Twitter account:
Proud to announce proposal for third #TeamEurope Covid-19 support package for ???????? composed of €150 million of low-interest loans for urgent financial needs.
— Carl Hartzell (@CarlHartzellEU) April 22, 2020
More in my letter to PM @GakhariaGiorgi as attached.#EU4Georgia #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/0ZutVUadzD
In total the EU Commission adopted a proposal for a €3 billion macro-financial assistance package to 10 enlargement and neighbourhood partners, which besides Georgia includes the following countries:
- Albania (€180 million)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina (€250 million)
- Jordan (€200 million)
- Kosovo (€100 million)
- Moldova (€100 million)
- Montenegro (€60 million)
- North Macedonia (€160 million)
- Tunisia (€600 million)
- Ukraine (€1.2 billion)
The funds will be made available for 12 months in the form of loans on "highly favourable terms" to help these countries cover their immediate, urgent financing needs, says the EU Commission.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has praised the measures taken by the government of Georgia in the fight against the global pandemic of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), along with current economic and political reforms in the country during a video conference with the Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia held today.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will allocate €200 million for development of healthcare infrastructure in Georgia, as well as supporting its fiscal and other needs amid the coronavirus pandemic. Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and Vice-President of the EIB Lilyana Pavlova, held a discussion during a video conference earlier today.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is offering $450 million to help Georgia contain the COVID-19 pandemic and limit its economic impact, announces the IMF. The IMF reached an agreement with the Georgian authorities for the completion of the Sixth Review and an augmentation of access under the Extended Fund Facility.
The European Union, Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, German Development Fund, French Development Agency will support the Georgian economy with $1.5 billion by the end of 2020, announced Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia today.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia wrote on his twitter account that Georgia-EU relations are stronger than ever. He thanked the European Commission for additional support of 150 million euros to help Georgia limit the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
The European Union delegation to Georgia has welcomed the government of Georgia's anti-crisis plan and said that a clear gender analysis will be crucial to Georgia’s ‘successful handling’ of one of the negative key side effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Georgia will receive €150 million in macro-financial assistance from the European Council to help the country ‘cope with the economic fallout’ of the COVID-19 pandemic. Georgia is among the ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners of the European Union which will receive the assistance ‘in the form of loans on highly favourable terms’.
The EU has announced three new projects to help victims of domestic violence, IDPs, and persons with disabilities across Georgia cope with the Covid-19 crisis, the EU representation in Georgia stated earlier today.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has welcomed EU leaders’ agreement on a post-coronavirus recovery package, involving €750bn (£677bn; $859bn) in grants and loans to counter the impact of the pandemic in the 27-member bloc.
The European Commission, on behalf of the EU, has agreed on a memoranda of understanding on macro-financial assistance (MFA) programmes with eight partners, including Georgia.
The EU has launched a twinning project in Georgia, worth 1.3 million EUR, to strengthen the blood safety system in Georgia –providing support to public health policies and programmes, particularly in the field of communicable diseases and blood transfusion.
The European Union and the World Health Organisation have sent 16,800 goggles and 10,000 medical gowns to Georgia to help in the fight against COVID-19.
The European Union has allocated €100 mln to support Georgia amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The European Union has mobilised 1.5 billion GEL to support Georgia during the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020. This is ‘one of the highest levels of EU assistance per capita to any country in the world and demonstrates the EU’s strong solidarity with Georgia at this time of unprecedented crisis’.
Georgia is in talks with the European Union (EU) for financial assistance for the next seven years, announces the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.
The six Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine will soon benefit from a new programme launched by the European Union in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO) today worth over €40 million, that aims to ensure local readiness and preparedness for a safe and effective vaccination of the population.
The European Union (EU) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have handed over 10 intensive care ventilators and 1,000 items of protective equipment to COVID-19 hospitals in Georgia for the treatment and care of Covid-patients.
“I believe that European unity needs Georgia as much as we need Europe”, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has stated, congratulating everyone on Europe Day today.
The three western Georgian cities of Kutaisi, Poti and Zugdidi will receive 30,000 euros each to develop a cultural development strategy with grants form EU4Culture. The Georgian cities were selected among a total of 14 non-capital cities and towns from five Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.