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1. TBILISI SEEKS TO RESUME TALKS WITH SUKHUMI
   (Daily News: April 11, 2003)

   Deputy Foreign Minister Kakha Sikharulidze told today’s news briefing the Georgian side had been “particularly active” today and sought to resume talks with Abkhazia. “All other roads lead to a deadlock”, he added.

2. PRE-ELECTION RUSH
   (Weekly Press Digest: April 6, 2003)

   According to Rezonansi, “the closer November comes the more active politicians and businessmen become”.The newspaper, commenting on the meeting of businessmen, held in the Taxpayers’ Union, writes: “The businessmen’s rising activity seems to be directly linked with the upcoming Parliamentary election”. What is more, Niko Lekishvili and Vano Chkhartishvili, leaders of the union, “aren’t concealing that they aim at getting into Parliament” as majority deputies.

3. OFFICE-HOLDERS’ IMMUNITY STILL IN CONSIDERATION
   (Daily News: April 2, 2003)

   Deputy Justice Minister Zurab Ezugbaia today introduced to the government amendments and supplements to a number of laws that limit immunity for the officials free from criminal liability.

   According to the Deputy Minister, under the draft amendments, immunity of chief investigators, prosecutors and candidates for MPs will be cancelled, while immunity of the chairman of the Chamber of Control, the ombudsman, and the leadership of the General Prosecutor’s Office will be restricted.

4. JSC TBILGHVINO PRODUCES 21 BRANDS OF WINE
   (Daily News: April 1, 2003)

   JSC Tbilghvino (Tbilisi Wine) produces 21 brands of wine and exports them mainly to Russia, Latvia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the Czech Republic, Sweden, the US and Canada, Zurab Margvelashvili, commercial director, told Sarke, adding the key problem the company had faced was adulteration.

   As for financial performance of Tbilghvino, Margvelashvili denied to comment, noting only that in 2002 the JSC transferred to the budget 347,480 Lari.

5. CONFUSION ON THE AIR MARKET
   (Weekly Press Digest: March 30, 2003)

   Foreign air companies’ activities in Georgia have given rise to disputes, writes Dilis Gazeti. The British Airways’ license on flights to London is due on March 29, but the Georgian civil aviation administration is not going to extend the license, while the tax department of the country accuses the company of not paying taxes.

6. A TRAINING CENTER FOR BANKERS TO BE SET UP IN TBILISI
   (Daily News: March 27, 2003)

   Georgia had reached an agreement with the German government and funds of German savings banks on the implementation of the program that aims at raising skills of Georgian, Armenian and Azeri bankers, Zurab Gvasalia, the president of the Association of Georgian Commercial Banks, told Sarke.

   According to Gvasalia, the two-year program that costs 1.2 million EUR calls for setting up a special training center.

7. PROBLEMS OF THE BRITISH AND TURKISH AIR COMPANIES STAY UNSOLVED
   (Daily News: March 27, 2003)

   State Minister Avtandil Jorbenadze and head of the Air Administration of the Transport and Communications Ministry Zurab Chankotadze considered in the State Office today problems regarding the British Mediterranean and Turkish Airlines, which work on the Georgian market and are facing the danger not to get licenses. However, Chankotadze said, they had not made any decision.

8. UNITED DEMOCRATS AND TRADE UNIONS OF THE EDUCATION SECTOR DECIDE TO JOIN EFFORTS
   (Daily News: March 27, 2003)

   United Democrats and trade unions of the education sector signed a memorandum on cooperation in the Youth Palace, Tbilisi today. The memorandum calls for joining efforts in order to increase minimum wages to leaving wage.

9. PARLIAMENT TO MAKE A FINAL DECISION ON MINIMUM WAGES
   (Daily News: March 20, 2003)

   According to the procedure, Parliament will vote on President’s alternative of changes to the Labor Code, under which minimum wages are to rise to leaving cost not from July 1, 2003 but July 1, 2005.

   If new version fails to gather 79 votes then a secondary voting will take place on the version confirmed by Parliament in February and vetoed by President.

10. RATIFICATION OF MILITARY COOPERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN GEORGIA AND THE US POSTPONED TO NEXT WEEK
    (Daily News: March 20, 2003)

    Today Parliament has failed once more to gather a quorum for the ratification of a military cooperation agreement between Georgia and the US, to which some changes had been made. By Georgian President’s initiative, the question had been included in the agenda of the extraordinary session.

11. TODAY’S EXTRAORDINARY SESSION CUT SHORT
    (Daily News: March 18, 2003)

    An extraordinary session of Parliament was cut short today. The consideration of questions in the agenda was postponed to March 19.

12. SOCIALISTS LEADER CRITICIZES PARLIAMENT SPEAKER, VICE-SPEAKER AND EX-SPEAKER
    (Daily News: March 17, 2003)

    At a news conference today Vakhtang Rcheulishvili, the Socialists leader, warned against the danger of a Parliamentary crisis, which, he said, might turn into a “wide scale crisis of the authorities”. He demanded in this connection that current Parliament speaker Nino Burjanadze, vice-speaker Gigi Tsereteli and the team of the ex-speaker Zurab Zhvania, currently the United Democrats party leader, be held accountable.

13. UNITED DEMOCRATS LEADER SAYS PRESIDENT IS RELUCTANT TO SPEAK WITH THE OPPOSITION
    (Daily News: March 17, 2003)

    Confrontation in Parliament serves Georgian President’s interests; in fact, it was not Vitali Khazaradze, chairman of the Citizens’ Union faction, and Vakhtang Rcheulishvili, the Socialists leader, who opposed increasing minimum wages but Eduard Shevardnadze, said Zurab Zhvania, the United Democrats leader, commenting on a decision of the latter to hold on March 18 Parliament’s extraordinary session, which will discuss canceling Parliament’s earlier decision on increasing minimum wages on July 1 (from 20 to 115 Lari).

    Zhvania told a news conference today: “President who does not want a dialogue with the opposition and his own people is dangerous for the country”.

14. NEW RIGHTS PROPOSE TO SEQUESTER BUDGET AND PUT OFF RAISING MINIMUM WAGES
    (Daily News: March 13, 2003)

    At a plenary session of Parliament today David Gamkrelidze, the leader of the New Rights faction, demanded that the State Minister, the economic team of the government and force structures be held responsible for the budget crises.

    According to the MP, President should create a precedent of punishment by punishing those responsible for the budget crises in order to avert the danger of default and problems with restructuring Georgia’s foreign debt in the Paris Club of creditor states.

15. RAISING MINIMUM WAGES REMAINS TICKLISH ISSUE FOR PARLIAMENT
    (Daily News: March 12, 2003)

    For the second day Parliament has been unable to hold plenary sessions due to the lack of quorum since the oppositions is reluctant to take part in the registration in an effort to contradict the government’s attempt to cancel the Parliament’s recent decision on making amendments to the Labor Code, under which on July 1 minimum wages (20 Lari) is to rise to the leaving cost (now around 115 Lari).

    At a special news conference today Zurab Zhvania, the leader of United Democrats, which launched the initiative, said the opposition was against such form of demarche but it had been forced to do so due to the government’s intention to revoke the law.

16. SOCIALISTS WILL TEAM UP WITH CITIZENS’ UNION
    (Daily News: March 7, 2003)

    Vakhtang Rcheulishvili, the Socialists leader, officially declared today that the party in the fall Parliamentary elections would participate in alliance with the Citizens’ Union (CU).

    Rcheulishvili is confident the alliance will be able to not only overcome the 7 per cent hurdle but also gather over 20% of votes.

17. LIBERTY IN LIQUIDATION
    (Daily News: March 5, 2003)

    The National Bank (NB) made the decision to liquidate Liberty, the intercontinental commercial bank in Batumi, due to its insolvency.

    Liberty had not appealed against the NB’s decision (it could appeal until March 5), Murtaz, Kikoria, head of the banking supervision and regulation department of NB, told Sarke.

18. DEMAND FOR CHIATURMARGANETS PRODUCTION RISES
    (Daily News: March 5, 2003)

    Demand for manganese concentrate has increased recently, especially on the Russian market, Zurab Garakanidze, Deputy State Property Management Minister told journalists today. According to him, 4-5 companies have already expressed interest in the production of JSC Chiaturmarganets.

19. PARLIAMENT DECIDES ON LEVELLING MINIMUM AND LIVING WAGES
    (Daily News: February 28, 2003)

    Parliament today unanimously voted for amendments to the Labor Code (by 90 votes), under which minimum wages (20 Lari) is to rise to the cost of living (around 115 Lari). The changes will take affect on July 1.

20. UNREGULATED LEGAL BASE MIGHT MEAN PROBLEMS FOR BRITISH AND TURKISH AIR CARRIERS
    (Daily News: February 28, 2003)

    The Parliament charged the Foreign Ministry to in due course submit for ratification the agreement on the air communication between Georgia and Turkey, signed in 1992 and speed up the preparation of the normative base between Great Britain and Georgia, who have so far only initiated a corresponding document.

    The Transport and Communications Ministry’s Air Administration is charged to terminate, prior to preparation of the normative base, the action of the permissions on the regular flights for the British Mediterranean and Turkish Airlines air carriers, which implement flights to Georgia.

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