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Starting the implementation of the EU twinning project for the National Regulatory Authority from Georgia

Starting the implementation of the EU twinning project for the National Regulatory Authority from Georgia

06 December 2017

Why twinning?

According to the definition, partnership cooperation (twinning) is about pursuing common interests and strengthening the bonds of friendships taking into account the European perspective. UKE was the Beneficiary of several twinning projects financed from the EU pre-accession programs, including PHARE and Transition Facility. Experience and knowledge provided by institutions from the EU Member States contributed to a fast and complete  fulfillment of the EU standards for the telecommunications market before and after Poland's accession to the EU. Now we want to provide support, sharing regulatory practice with a friendly NRA from Georgia – the Georgian State Commission on Communications (GNCC).

Development of cooperation with Georgia

UKE has a special relationship with the GNCC. We have been cooperating continuously since 2011, when we signed the Memorandum of cooperation with the GNCC. Since then, we have been meeting with the GNCC representatives at various levels many times. Over time, our cooperation has become particularly close, and contacts between experts quasi-friendly. As part of consolidating and developing our mutual relations, we implemented two aid projects for GNCC in 2011 and 2016, financed from the Polish Development Cooperation Program, coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To further strengthen relations with the Georgians, the President of UKE has started the implementation of the EU project in the framework of twinning. The aim of this project is to provide a competitive environment for all market players in the Georgian electronic communications sector.

Transfer of UKE’s knowledge and know-how in the EU twinning project

We carry out the project in a consortium together with the Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Lithuania (RRT) as Project Manager and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), which acts as a Junior Partner just like us. As a result, we can present to the Georgians various regulatory approaches in the area of telecommunications.

The President of UKE is responsible for the implementation of two out of six components in this project. They concern key regulatory areas of the telecommunications market, namely market analyzes and frequency management. Our experts will also participate in the works on the development of a new regulatory framework, as well as legal provisions regarding the construction of broadband infrastructure. We hope that our commitment will contribute to the development of the telecommunications market in Georgia and the approximation of the Georgian law to the EU legislation.

The festive start of the project – the so-called Kick-off Meeting

The project implementation will start on 6 December 2017 and it will last 18 months until 6 June 2019. In addition, on 12 December 2017 the official inauguration will take place in Tbilisi with the participation of representatives of all the parties of the project and the European Commission. In this event will take part the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Georgia and the Junior Project Leader from UKE’s side, who will deliver a short speech entitled “From Beneficiary to Donor: UKE’s assistance for the GNCC at a glance”.