Brussels, 16/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 15 January, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn and Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili signed a financing agreement for a new €44.5 million programme over three years to help Georgia implement the deep and comprehensive free trade area (DCFTA) and to help promote private sector development.
The EU's support will thus focus on strengthening the policy framework for trade and the development of SMEs. It will also focus on improving the functioning of the institutions regulating and supporting trade and the private sector, as well as focusing on strengthening economic actors and SMEs while adjusting to the new regulatory environment according to the DCFTA. In addition, the EU's support will focus on the economic integration of returned migrants, women in business and young entrepreneurs.
The new programme is complemented by the DCFTA Facility for SMEs - a regional initiative of the EU and the European financing institutions aimed at mobilising around €150 million of EU subsidies in order to unlock approximately €1.5 billion of investments in SMEs in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. (CG)