By Vestnik Kavkaza
The main event for Georgia in recent days was the Riga summit of the Eastern Partnership. It didn’t bring anything new to the republic. However, the republic didn’t expect anything from the summit either, having no hopes for a visa-free regime with the EU. Therefore, Georgian citizens are discussing future prospects of European integration of Georgia.
“The last two months have showed that Georgia would have faced disappointment at the Riga summit. Both the political elite and the civil society realized that the expected visa-free regime wouldn’t have been granted at the Riga summit. When the association agreement was signed, there was a hint rather than a promise that a visa-free regime could be reached by the Riga summit. Moreover, I remember that the Georgian side thought that the fact that visas for Moldova were cancelled earlier than for Georgia was unfair. Today offence has turned into skepticism, as the issue has been postponed to the next summit in the hope of some favorable conditions for such a decision. Of course, this leaves the Georgian elite disappointed,” Kviris Palitra cites Eugen Kogon, an Austrian expert for military security of the Caucasus.
“Georgia and the EU are dancing a political tango; and a tango demands two dancers. It doesn’t matter how good you are at dancing, if your partner has no enthusiasm. Developments on NATO are the same – it is a long-term undertaking. Nobody knows whether it can be fulfilled in the near future. However, the striving for Europe and the West is an objective which is worth pursuing and following, as it changes the country for the best. Let’s look at Turkey. The country has achieved great progress in joining the EU, but its membership is even less possible than the membership of Georgia. However, was it beneficial for Turkey itself? Of course it was. Turkey became a more developed country. This should be Georgia’s goal as well,” the expert thinks.
The local media continues following the situation in the country’s economy, where positive trends have appeared recently.
“In the currency exchange offices of the capital, the demand for dollars has drastically reduced. The population expects that the lari will strengthen and doesn’t purchase dollars. Meanwhile, the official exchange rate of the National Bank of Georgia is $1=2.25 laris. The artificial rush has ended on the internal market. Yesterday the dollar exchange rate fluctuated seriously several times. It was connected with the fact that traders followed the Bloomberg System trades rather than the official rate of the NBG. During the day, one could buy $1 for 2.23-2.27 laris. At the same time, traders played safe and increased margins,” Rezonansi reported on March 22.
“For several months a speculative demand for dollars was obvious on the internal market. Moreover, in the exchange offices they said that the majority of the US currency was bought by one and the same people. Some exchange offices even refused to sell dollars, stating that there was a deficit of the currency. This caused chaos on the exchange market. Economists suggested that a speculative background was created for an artificial devaluation of the lari. According to economist Levan Kalandadze, the strengthening of the lari is caused by a reduction in speculations. As for probable continuation of the strengthening, the expert thinks that the lari will continue to strengthen, but it will never return to the initial rate,” the newspaper reports.
Despite this, the situation in the country remains difficult; for example, prices for some goods, including sugar, are too high.
“Sugar is becoming cheaper on the world market, while in Georgia the trend is marked by a decrease of its price by 5 tetris. During the year, a price of 1 ton of white sugar decreased on the international market by $123; since the beginning of 2015 – by $66. Today 1 ton of sugar costs $350 on the world market. Considering the lari exchange rate and VAT, 1 kg of sugar costs 93 tetris in Georgia. According to calculations of Georgian experts, the product should cost at least 20 tetris less on the local market. Today 1 kg of sugar is sold for 1.35-1.45 laris in Tbilisi trade facilities,” Rezonansi reports.
Recent events in the United National Movement, which caused rumors about the upcoming dissolution of the party, were also noticed by journalists.
“At the moment four members of the Political Council have left the UNM. The decision can probably be considered positive – it’s better late than never. According to our information, five other people plan to leave the UNM – David Bakradze, Giorgi Vashadze, Sergo Ratiani, Zurab Chiaberashvili, and Mariam Sadjaya. These people have not actually been members of the party for a long time, as they have conflicts with the ‘fathers’ of the UNM – Mikhail Machavariani, Nugzar Tsiklauri, Gigi Tsereteli, and others. They also have bad relations with Mikhail Saakashvili,” Alia cites Alexander Kobaidze, a member of the Association of Young Advocates.
“The party has no future. This fact is confirmed by the withdrawal of the Political Council and its Secretary General. Many “nationals” thought about it, saw that the party had no future, and changed their positions. Even though they were involved in numerous crimes, they made a timely decision. They strengthened their political chances by rejecting following the National Movement to a political grave,” he is sure.
Against the background of political and economic issues, the Georgian press reports on environmental problems which are especially important for the country, considering the role of the AIC in its economy.
“Global warming means an increase of the average air temperature on Earth. The reason for this is the growth of greenhouse gases. The surface of the Earth absorbs sunlight and turns it into heat which is called greenhouse gases. The heat doesn’t leave the Earth and it causes a rise in temperature. There used to be a balance on the Earth. Gases accumulated in the atmosphere, and it balanced the temperature. Since the 18th century, when the industrial revolution started and humanity began to consume more fuel to get energy, it caused a growth of greenhouse gases. This is the reason for the process,” Rezonansi reports.
“At the beginning of melting, we will have water abundance; but later there will be a lack of water. Summer will be very hot, while winter will be rather warm; and autumn and spring will disappear. Heavy rains will lead to soil erosion, intensification of landslide areas, natural disasters, and floods. Unpredictable drawbars will lead to destruction of agricultural products. If the country doesn’t take necessary steps, it will lead to economic collapse,” the newspaper cites environmentalist Nino Chkhobadze.
