EU allocates 3 million euros for return Georgian citizens illegally residing in EU countries

Tbilisi hosted the presentation of the project "Targeted initiatives for Georgia - to support the integration of Georgian migrants returning to the country and implementation of the EU-Georgia agreements on readmission."

Representatives of the Georgian government and diplomatic corps attended the event.

Czech Ambassador to Georgia Ivan Jestrab presented the project. He said the project aimed at ensuring the effective management of migration and strengthening the capacity of the Georgian authorities with a view to returning migrants and their reintegration in their homeland.

The EU has allocated 3 million euros for the project that will cover three main areas: first, strengthening the capacity of the legal framework on migration, which includes the establishment of employment and consulting centers, development of textbooks and sharing experiences; second - assistance to migrants, which provides for their professional skills, consulting in the field of employment, assistance at the beginning of a small business, medical care and temporary shelter assistance.

The third direction stipulates the organization of information campaigns on legal migration opportunities and risks of irregular migration.

Head of the EU Delegation in Georgia Philip Dimitrov said the Geogria-Eu agreements on visa facilitation and readmission that entered into force on March 1, 2011 are the "two sides of one coin."

"It is impossible to successfully implement one of these agreements without the successful implementation of the second. Otherwise, Georgia will face the closed doors of Europe," Dimitrov said.

He said "all who are in the EU must be there legally."

However, Dimitrov said, the return of migrants mut take pace "humanely and with dignity." "The EU project will contribute to this," he said.

Meanwhile, the opposition strongly criticized the Georgian authorities for the signing of readmission agreements. They claim about 500,000 Georgians, whose return home in these conditions is impossible, illegally reside abroad.


/Trend/