“We signed the Association Agreement, then the FTA, also received visa-free travel, and last year our country officially applied for EU membership,” Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili stated in his speech at today’s presentation of the Anticorruption Bureau.
As the Prime Minister noted, it was a momentous decision of historic importance.
“It is a great honor to be addressing you today. It is a very important day, indeed. We just listened to Mr. Kuprashvili’s vision and presentation as to what kind of service it should be. Before that, I want to briefly remind the public and our friends about the path our country has covered over the past 10 years. As you know, we signed the Association Agreement, then the FTA, also received visa-free travel, and last year our country officially applied for EU membership. Of course, it was a momentous decision of historic importance. Equally historic was the decision made on June 17, 2022, when the European perspective was granted to Georgia. This is a vocal recognition of the centuries-old aspirations of the Georgian people and, at the same time, the beginning of a new historical era.
“Dear friends, as you know, last year we received 12 recommendations, to implement which our Government set out immediately. The Parliament invested a lot of effort, relevant working groups were established, and we did and are doing everything to make sure that the Government duly fulfills every obligation. In this 12-point plan, the fourth recommendation envisages the empowerment of anticorruption mechanisms. And it is to this very end that the Anticorruption Bureau was established.
“I would like to emphasize that the bureau is distinguished by a very high level of independence, including financial independence. It is accountable only to the Parliament of Georgia and the Interagency Anticorruption Council, which means reporting to them on an annual basis.
“Candidates for the office of Head of the Bureau were selected by an independent commission bringing together representatives of state institutions and civil society.
“And it was from the list of candidates endorsed by this commission that the Head of the Bureau, Mr. Razhden Kuprashvili, was appointed. Once again, I would like to congratulate you and wish you success.
“I also want to point out that this umbrella bureau brings together all key corruption prevention functions. One of the main directions of its operation implies defining anticorruption policy in coordination with the relevant state institutions. The bureau is authorized to supervise the implementation of anticorruption policy documents and to issue relevant recommendations. Recommendations issued by the bureau will serve as a mechanism underpinning our country’s strong anticorruption policy,” the Prime Minister stated.
