EU to assist Georgia with €150 mln amid COVID-19 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. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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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 ambassadors have endorsed the Commission proposal earlier today.
Croatian Minister of Finance Zdravko Maric said that enlargement and neighbourhood countries are 'our closest partners'.
Now more than ever, it is absolutely essential that we stick together and show solidarity in addressing the economic and social impact of this global crisis” Zdravko Maric said.
The EU assistance aims to help the countries ‘cover their immediate financing needs’ which have increased as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The funds, which will be available for twelve months, will be disbursed in two instalments. The loans will have a maximum average maturity of 15 years.
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved $200 million for Georgia to help address the effects of the coronavirus. This, IMF said, will help Georgia “meet urgent balance of payments and fiscal needs” stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, including “increased spending on health services and social protection”.
The World Bank will provide $80 million to Georgia under the Fast Track COVID-19 Facility to mitigate the health and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, announces the World Bank.
The Georgian Football Federation will receive €4.3 million from UEFA to overcome the financial impact caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to Georgia UEFA is helping all its 55 member associations. For this reason UEFA has allocated €236.5 million which will be distributed to the national associations to cover running costs and to help develop targeted areas of domestic football.
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.
Georgia has allocated 89,900,000 GEL (about $28.09m/€26.02m) for the implementation of a health programme for 2020 to manage COVID-19. Quarantine spaces, except for the Abastumani Lung Center, will receive not more than 100 GEL per day for each beneficiary.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is providing an additional $3 million in assistance to the Georgian healthcare system in response to COVID-19.The US Ambassador to Georgia, Kelly Degnan, said that the CDC has been supporting Georgia to prepare for and response to the pandemic since January.
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the lending arm of the World Bank Group, has approved €73.1 million under the 'Emergency COVID-19 Response Project' for Georgia. The project aims to help the government’s efforts to mitigate and address the health and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
The World Bank is allocating €45 mln to help Georgia mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus and to support the Georgian government cover unanticipated financial gaps in the budget that have arisen due to the pandemic.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a loan of €45 million to Georgia to mitigate the negative economic and social impacts of Covid-19 and sustain the momentum of pre-pandemic reforms that support economic growth and resilience, announces the AIIB.
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 World Bank is ready to support Georgia in the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines as soon as an effective one becomes available, announces Georgian Finance Minister Ivane Matchavariani after a video conference with Vice President of the World Bank for Europe and Central Asia Anna Bierde.