Guria, Georgia, 2 July 2009

As the European Union’s Eastern Partnership initiative gathers momentum in Brussels, an Assembly of European Regions (AER) delegation led by Secretary-General Klaus Klipp was in Guria, Georgia, today bringing that partnership to the South Caucasus regions.

“AER prides itself on taking the time to visit regions on the ground to really get a sense of the challenges they are facing,” Secretary-General Klipp said. “Given the turmoil Georgia has experienced in recent years, it is no surprise that issues such as territorial reform and interregional co-operation have taken a back seat. But as more Georgian regions have become AER members in recent months, and since AER is already playing an active role in the Eastern Partnership, we felt that this was a good time to be here.”

Organised by AER and hosted by the Guria region of Georgia, the meeting brought together governors of the Georgian regions, the State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Giorgi Baramidze, as well as representatives from Armenia, Poland and other eastern stakeholders.

The governors were introduced to the numerous possibilities AER offers for interregional co-operation with the EU regions, along with information on EU funding opportunities, policies and project management. AER also offered its support in helping Georgia’s constitutional reformers strengthen the role of the regions, in line with the principles of subsidiarity and multi-level governance that lie at the heart of AER’s work.

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