The price of status - what economic and political benefits will the EU candidate country status of Georgia bring?
The price of status - what economic and political benefits
will the EU candidate country status of Georgia bring?
In this case, it should be noted that the following factors
should be noted as to the benefits of the EU candidate country status.
Countries with candidate status (in the case of potential
candidate status, the scope is limited) have access to the funds of the
pre-accession financial instrument (IPA III-2021-2027), which includes 14
billion euros and 5 thematic areas:
- Institutional and administrative - Capacity building
(candidate and potential candidate);
- cross-border cooperation (candidate and potential candidate);
- Development of rural and community settlements (candidate
only);
- development of regions (candidate only);
- Human resources development (candidate only).
• The economic and investment program (2021-2027) is also
attached to the pre-accession financial instrument, which provides for the
mobilization of 30 billion euros from international financial institutions
(EIB, KfW, EBRD, WB, IMF, etc.) and the private sector (9 billion grants and 20
billion investments of financial institutions) and investments in the following
directions: transport, private sector development, human resources, etc.
• Countries with candidate status have access to all programs of
the European Union (11 programs). Since Georgia today has access to only a
small part, which is Erasmus + Horizon 2020, CRE Europe);
• Candidate countries will be able to use the so-called Funding
from the thematic funds under the EU Neighborhood, Development, and
International Cooperation (NDICI) instrument, amounting to €19 billion for the
period 2021-2027.
The mentioned financial aid will be used for the candidate
country if the individual progress has been achieved on the path of European
integration. It is a good day to take advantage of this possibility. The use of
these opportunities will have an incredibly large tangible effect on the growth
of the well-being and quality of life of every citizen of Georgia.
According to the forecast of the World Bank, as a result of EU
policy on the example of the Western Balkans countries (During the research
period, the status of Ukraine, Moldova, and Ukraine was not considered yet), it
would be provided not only 6.7 percent of economic growth, but at the same
time, there has been a large-scale increase in private foreign investment in
these countries from the European Union side.
What projects does the European Union plan to invest in Georgia?
The European Union is supporting Georgia with specific
investments to help post-pandemic recovery and improve the lives of Georgian
citizens.
In the coming years, the European Union will invest in the
following flagship projects across Georgia (as a candidate state):
• reliable Internet through the Black Sea Internet cable and
electric cable;
• Ferry service to the Black Sea;
• Support of 80,000 small and medium businesses;
• High-speed Internet in 1,000 rural communities;
• Clean air and energy efficiency for 1 million people.
What are the economic benefits of EU membership candidate status
- examples of countries
It can be considered the economic benefits of the EU
membership candidate status on the example of different countries.
It should be noted that it took an average of 6 years for
the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Malta, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia to join the European
Union.
Historically, the negotiation process is the longest and
covers such areas and aspects of the state as fundamental issues of the
country, local market, competition, and inclusive growth, green policy agenda
and sustainable development, agriculture, and foreign relations.
During the period of membership candidacy, the difference
between the economies of the EU member states and the candidate country is
decreasing. And after joining, the effect is even more striking.
For example, we can consider the example of Bulgaria:
After receiving the status of a candidate for EU
membership, Bulgaria's exports to the EU increased significantly, and from
2000-2006 the annual growth was 23%.
After receiving the status of a candidate for membership,
in 2000-2006, the inflow of foreign direct investments to Bulgaria increased
almost 8 times, and the country's credit rating also improved.
In the process of accession, the European Union offers a
pre-accession support tool to the countries of the Western Balkans, which
involves the financing of such strategic directions with 14 billion euros, such
as rule of law, good governance, green agenda, competition and inclusive
growth, territorial and cross-border cooperation. There is also an economic and
investment plan that allocates 9 billion euros to the transport and energy
sectors, as well as green and digital development. Another important program is
the guarantee platform of the Western Balkan countries, which should attract
investments of up to 20 billion euros in the region.
Examples of other candidate countries
As for the results of the support and assistance provided
to various countries during the candidacy period: in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
investments were made in agricultural products and the wood processing
industry, as well as in metallurgy.
In North Macedonia, the European Union invested in
equipping 6 regional medical centers. Also, as a result of the modernization of
the border infrastructure with Serbia, the throughput increased by 30%.
In the Western Balkans and Turkey, thousands of farms and
agro-food processing plants were retooled.
Strategic transport infrastructure was created in Albania,
as well as small and medium-scale road infrastructure. As a result, villages
were connected to central highways, which contributed to the development of
tourism, and also opened the way for agriculture to export markets.
Conclusion - What does the EU membership candidate status
mean and what stages does it follow?
The status of a candidate for EU membership is granted to
countries that have declared their intention to become full members of the
Union and meet the established criteria. Theoretically, obtaining the candidate
status is not the first stage of the accession process, but it is considered
one of the important, albeit largely symbolic, stages before the final
integration.
The next step for a country to be granted the status of a
candidate for EU membership is to start long-term accession negotiations and
bring the country closer to the EU legislation (acquis). After the negotiations
in all frameworks are completed, the European Commission will again present its
opinion on the country's readiness. After the confirmation of all the member
states and the European Parliament, the accession agreement is signed for the
country, it must be ratified by all the member states and finally, the country
becomes a member of the European Union.
The average length of membership of the EU's current 21
members (not including the founding members) is 9 years. Of course, the time
frame for each country is different and depends on the readiness of the
country, the number of reforms required, global politics, and other factors.
Currently, the
European Union has 8 candidates for membership. Among them, Turkey received the
status the earliest in 1999, therefore, it is the most seasoned, but at the
same time the most hopeless (bilaterally) candidate. It was followed by North
Macedonia in 2005, Montenegro in 2010, Serbia in 2012, and Albania in 2014.
2022 was an unprecedented year in the history of EU enlargement in recent
decades – this year candidate status was granted to three countries, Ukraine,
Moldova, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
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