At the 6th Annual Assembly of the National Platform chairman and group coordinators were elected

Lana Giorgidze 

On February 11, 2015 the sixth annual meeting of the Georgian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum was held. 87 member organizations participated in it. 

The chairman of the National Platform Lasha Tugushi opened the forum. The invited guests Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia Davit Usupashvili, State Minister for the Integration into European and Euro-Atlantic Structures Davit Bakradze, Deputy Head of the EU Mission in Georgia Boris Yaroshevich and Deputy Foreign Minister Gigi Gigiadze made welcome speeches during the meeting. The speakers spoke about the importance of Georgia’s European integration and the role of civil society in the process. 

In the second panel of the meeting, the platform chairman Lasha Tugushi and coordinators of the working groups presented reports about the activities from 2014. The assembly of the National Platform passed amendments to the new statute. 

Elections of the platform chairman and group coordinators were held at the meeting. Only one candidate was nominated for the position of the platform chairman – director of the Liberal Academy Tbilisi Lasha Tugushi. 80 organizations participated in the election and 63 of them voted for Lasha Tugushi. 

The following coordinators were elected for the working groups:

I group- Irina Putkaradze, Natia Kuprashvili 

II group- Kakha Gogolashvili and Manana Tsulaia 

III group- Anzor Dundua and Manana Devidze 

IV group- Nukri Khvelashvili and Nino Tlashadze 

V group- Irakli Petriashvili and Zurab Putkaradze 

Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum activities include four thematic platforms and, therefore, four working groups: 1) Democracy, human rights, good governance and stability; 2) Economic integration and convergence with EU policies; 3) Environmental protection, climate change and energy security; 4) Promoting people linkages. 

One of the coordinators of the fourth (IV) group is deputy executive director of Human Rights Centre Nino Tlashadze. It should be noted that the Human Rights Center is the active members of the Georgian National Platform since its establishment. 

According to Nino Tlashadze, national platform working groups should pay particular attention to the informational and working meeting in the regions. 

"Visa facilitation, education, culture and youth issues are one of the most important areas of the European integration process. I welcome creation of the youth sub - group, which will strengthen the role of the youth in the work of the National Platform. I also believe that the working group should pay special attention to organizing information and working meetings of the National Platform in the regions for more engagement of regional CSOs in the process. In the frame of the conflict sub-group the work on the trust-building with Ossetian and Abkhazian people will continue. It will be good if the National Platform will launch advocacy campaigns to promote confidence building process with Abkhaz and Ossetian peoples,”- said Nino Tlashadze at the meeting. 

According to Nino Tlashadze the role of the national platform and its working groups acquire more importance after the EU-Georgian Association Agreement was signed. 

The Eastern Partnership contributes to the European integration of the six eastern European countries.  Eastern Partnership is focused on multilateral (EU - Eastern Europe six countries) and Bilateral relations (EU - a partnership of the individual countries). 

On 7 May 2009 the European Union offered a new form of cooperation to the six countries of Eastern Europe - Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine. The objectives of the new initiative: Democracy and good governance, social and economic development, sector reforms, environmental protection, strengthening energy sector, to encourage people to people contacts. The National Platform was launched on 13 November, 2010.