“The Council of Europe supports the valuable work on reforms in Georgia,” said Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE), as part of her 2nd 3-day visit to Georgia at the joint press briefing held jointly with Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili.

The CoE Secretary General elaborated on the consolidated reforms in Georgia, which joined the CoE 24 years ago.

“The cooperation between Georgia and the Council of Europe is strong. Our current action plan, which ends at the end of this year, is supported by your authorities in advance, and many reforms in the area such as the fight against corruption, the reform of the judiciary, the fight against violence against women and sexual exploitation of children,” she said.

According to Marija Pejčinović Burić, the elaboration for the next action plan for 2024-2027, is underway and will be concluded soon.

“I can assure you that the Council of Europe is committed to continue to support you in these reforms which are also implemented in your EU aspirations. The Council of Europe also remains unwavering in support of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. My last biannual consolidated report on the conflict in Georgia was issued in April this year and it continues to highlight the progress with respect to human rights and humanitarian issues in the conflict-affected areas with restrictions to free movement, and access to education. We will continue consolidating the confidence-building measures which aim to build bridges in population groups and enhance human protection in the regions affected by the conflict and we will also continue to strive at gaining access to Abkhazia and South Ossetia for the preparation of future consolidated reports,” she said.

Marija Pejčinović Burić concluded with her remark on the judgements of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on the Georgia-Russia case. She said these judgments would continue to be examined in the Committee of Ministers.

“The Russian Federation remains under an obligation to implement them. The default interest in the amount awarded by the court in Georgia in Georgia vs Russia case continues to accrue reaching, at this moment, more than 10 million Euros. We will continue to do this and there is also the second judgment and we will continue to work diligently since it is recognized by international law. And we will insist on that point at the meetings that this case is examined.

We are generally supporting the valuable work on reforms in Georgia. And I hope that the next action plan will even be stronger than we have now and the ambitions are greater,” she said.