Parliament working on legislation to ensure “ease of doing business”, “corruption-free environment” - Speaker

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday said the lawmaking body was working on legislation that would ensure “ease of doing business” and “corruption-free business environment” in the country.

Speaking at the EU-Georgia Business Forum, hosted in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi, Papuashvili said the Parliament had “already done a lot” to improve the legislative base for approximation with European Union legislation. 

The Parliament is the guarantor of the rule of law, which is important for business and, in general, for the development of the economy [...] We are also ready to help Georgian companies gain more access to the European market”, Papuashvili said.

He said the importance of strengthening business ties between the EU and the country was increasing along with Georgia’s progress in integration, and added his office was ready to continue promoting “peace and stability” in the country and the region as important elements for business development.

The World Peace Index, a report prepared by the Institute for Economics and Peace and measuring the relative position of countries and regions in terms of peace, shows Georgia's impressive progress over the past 10 years. We will continue to work in this direction to ensure the success and efficiency of business activities”, he said.

The lawmaker also named other international ratings which he said “proved” the efficiency of the Government’s efforts.

For example, according to the World Justice Project's 2023 Rule of Law Index, Georgia ranks 48th out of 142 countries and is ahead of all EU candidate countries, as well as two EU and five NATO member countries. In addition, the 2023 Global Corruption Index shows Georgia's "low corruption rate", which puts us ahead of eight NATO [and] four EU member states, and all EU candidate countries”, he said.

Papuashvili also pledged readiness to “actively” cooperate with business in order to “further improve” the figures.

The Forum was organised by the European Business Association in partnership with ProCredit Bank Georgia and the European Economic Cooperation Platform.