When military actions undertaken by their countries go wrong, how do parliaments hold governments accountable? Georgian MPs met colleagues from Lithuania and the Netherlands to discuss these and related questions at a seminar held by CESS in Tbilisi on 25 June 2010. The fifty participants also included parliamentary staff and officials of non-governmental organizations. In his opening words, the Dutch ambassador Pieter Jan Langenberg stressed the importance of sharing experiences.

Former Dutch MP Bert Bakker spoke about the parliamentary inquiry he chaired in 2002. This inquiry dealt with the fall of the enclave Srebrenica in 1995 and identified the mistakes made by soldiers in the field and by politicians in The Hague. Mr Bakker went on to tell the seminar about the work of the Dutch parliamentary commission that oversees peace support operations. Khatuna Gogorishvili and other Georgian MPs discussed the parliamentary inquiry held after the August War of 2008 and Georgia’s military involvement in Afghanistan. A former MP from Lithuania, Jonas Cekuolis, described the role of parliament in his country’s defence reforms.

The next seminar for Georgian parliamentarians organised by CESS and its Georgian partner CEIS will take place during a study visit to The Hague. The seminars are now to be followed by a series of training courses on parliamentary oversight of the security sector. The first will be held in Batumi on 6-8 October 2010. The Georgia Parliamentary Programme is sponsored by the Netherlands’ government.  

EM Georgia - Russia was preparing invasion

in Georgia at least for a month

Beginning in 2004, the Georgian Government has repeatedly proposed to launch a genuine peace process for South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Years of stalemate had left all ethnic populations in both conflict zones impoverished and without any effective protection of basic rights; The Russian Federation and consequently separatist leaders controlled by Russia have rejected Georgia’s peace initiatives each time they have been proposed—even when the international community backed the initiatives. Russia’s so called “peacekeeping mission”  aimed at preventing the reconciliation process and confidence building in conflict areas. New Georgian government unequivocally expressed its desire to join Euro-Atlantic security architecture and started profound reforms to get ready for it. Georgian government also raised voice for changing the negotiating format in so called Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-Ossetian conflicts. 

Georgian Participant in Third  Summer School in Moldova

In 23-30 June, by initiative of  European movement Moldova and international centre of European studies in Nice, was made summer school’s third series about, “Black sea region and enlarged Europe”.

Participants in this seminar were students approximately from 20 different nations. A part of Moldavians also French, Danish, Polish and Georgian youth had participate to work for this summer school. From Georgia David Natvroshvili was participating, member of board of youth organization of European Movement Georgia. Lecturers also were from different countries: about Black sea region and European union partnership perspectives, Moldavian, French, Swiss, and Romanian  professors, experts and civil servants were making a consultation for young students.

Training on ENP and Black Sea

Cooperation for Kutaisi University Students

Experts from European Movement Georgia (EMG) in cooperation with the Parliament of Georgia completed 2 weekly training course 14-28 April on the topic “EU Neighborhood policy and prospects of Black See Regional Cooperation” organized for  group of students from Kutaisi University.  Speakers covered all aspects of Neighborhood policy as well as new opportunities provided by the Black Sea Synergy initiative of European Commission.

Experts from EMG and Parliamentary staff provided to audience detailed information on the process of implementation ENP  Action Plan for 2007 and results of joint monitoring. Students get information on all 8 priorities of the Action Plan took part in workshops dedicated to the technique of monitoring and Parliamentary oversight.