Georgia has some level of preparation to implement the acquis in the area of justice, freedom and security, reads the European Commission's report on Georgia’s alignment with the EU acquis.

"The country has several strategies in place, notably on terrorism and migration. Legislation in some areas, notably on foreigners and asylum, is broadly aligned with the acquis. However, institutional cooperation and coordination are weak. As a result, implementation is sometimes unsatisfactory," the document states.

In relation to public procurement, the document says that Georgia has some level of preparation in the area.

"It should further align its legislative framework with the EU acquis, by including contracting entities in the utilities sectors and further align its legislation with the concessions directive on procurement in the defence and security sectors," reads the report.

In addition, the document notes that EU rules require EU Member States to be able to produce statistics based on professional independence, impartiality, reliability, transparency and confidentiality. According to the document, common rules are provided for the methodology, production and dissemination of statistical information.

"In the area of statistics, Georgia has some level of preparation. To a large extent national legal instruments are in place for producing required statistical data and further developing the system to approximate it with EU standards. As regards administrative capacity, adequacy of resources is of concern. The national statistical office, Geostat, has a relatively small number of employees and salary levels are not aligned with those of officials in other areas of public service. Financial and IT resources are also relatively limited," the document reads.

According to the report, EU rules aim to ensure fair competition between, and the stability of, financial institutions, namely banking, insurance, supplementary pensions, investment services and securities markets. They include rules on the authorisation, operation and supervision of these institutions.

"In the area of financial services Georgia has some level of preparation. Georgia will need to take major additional legislative and operational steps for aligning its rules in numerous areas, in particular with Capital Requirements Regulation and Directive, Investment Firms Regulation and Directive, the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive and general financial market infrastructure legislation. Furthermore, Georgia will need to reinforce its capacity substantially to implement the new measures in all areas. Insurance and capital markets remain underdeveloped," the reports reads.

In addition, the reports stresses that The EU supports the smooth functioning of the internal market for electronic communications, electronic commerce and audio-visual services. The rules protect consumers and support the universal availability of modern services.

"Georgia has some level of preparation in the area of information society and media. It has taken some steps to align its legislation with the EU acquis. Georgia has several digital policy strategies in place, but efforts should be made to ensure that they are aligned with the EU’s “Shaping Europe’s Digital Future” and the “Digital Compass”. Implementation of the spectrum provisions of the European Electronic Communications Code is not evident. There is a lack of universal service regime and therefore implementation of universal services under the European Electronic Communications Code is not yet possible. There are no specific legal acts or rules on open internet access in place. Progress seems to be made towards an alignment with AVMSD," reads the document.

source: IPN