US Ambassador to Georgia commented on the Georgian government’s decision not to take EUR 75 million assistance. Kelly Degnan said it was a surprise amid the high unemployment and poverty rate in Georgia.

“We were a little surprised that the Government of Georgia’s statement that Georgia doesn’t need EUR 75 million in assistance, despite the high unemployment and poverty rate and of course the impact of COVID. I’m sure Washington will take note of that as well. What my understanding is that this assistance was tied to important judicial reforms. And that was clear last year when the package was discussed between the European Union and the Georgian government. So again, these are important reforms that need to be made and we hope that that will continue to be the case. Of course, there are difficult reforms and some good reforms have been made, which is very encouraging and, again, it’s now important that whether it’s tied to EUR 75 million or not that these reforms are made.

The United States Congress is watching what happens here, and we always coordinate with the Georgian government as to what kind of support they need and want. And so, I’m sure they will take note of the government’s statement that they don’t need EUR 75 million in assistance,” Kelly Degnan said.

GD Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze and Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili stated on August 31 that the EU macro-financial assistance to Georgia lost its economic significance as the government secured approximately extra GEL 1 billion (USD 320 mln) in the budget.