Economic Press Monitor April 4 - 10, 2021	Days:  27 03 10 17 24

economic & politics

FORBES GEORGIA: “TBILISI OPEN AIR 2021 WON’T BE HELD”

April 8, 2021 - International annual music festival “Tbilisi Open Air 2021” will not be held this year, the magazine reports.

As the reason, the organizers indicate, along with epidemic situation and acting regulations, a possible tightening of restrictions.




NETGAZETI.GE: “EU: REVISION OF JUDGES’ SELECTION PROCESS IS A CONDITION FOR RECEIVING ASSISTANCE”

April 8, 2021 - On April 1, Georgian Parliament approved legislative amendments (with 86 votes “pro”), which alter procedure of candidates’ selection for seats in the Supreme Court by the Supreme Council of Justice and their presentation to the Parliament.

The EU welcomes the initiative to amend the legal framework of the Supreme Court judges’ selection process, but is disappointed that the amendments were adopted by the Georgian Parliament hastily, without inclusive consultation, reports Netgazeti.Ge.




TABULA: “PERADZE: IN RECENT DAYS, WE HAVE FINED UP TO 25 NIGHTCLUBS, 300-400 PEOPLE WERE IN QUITE SMALL SPACE”

April 8, 2021 - Beka Peradze, head of Georgian Labor Inspectorate, declared that up to 25 electronic music nightclubs have been fined in recent days. In these facilities, “about 300-400 people were placed in single, quite small space, and epidemiologically there was an unenviable situation”, he said on air of Rustavi-2 TV company.




REZONANSI: “NEW STRAIN, 10 CLUSTERS AND ONE NEW RESTRICTION – WHAT AWAITS GEORGIA IN THE COMING DAYS”

April 7, 2021 - On April 6, Georgia’s daily rate of new COVID-19 cases abruptly increased, while rate of positive tests exceeded the critical mark of 3%, the newspaper reports. In particular, COVID-19 was confirmed to Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, while President Salome Zurabishvili went into self-isolation.




TABULA: “TURNAVA: AS IT SEEMS, FULL RECOVERY OF TOURISM WON’T BE POSSIBLE IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS”

April 7, 2021 - Natia Turnava, Georgia’s Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, pointed: “It is very important for us to re-create sources of healthy inflow of foreign currency to Georgia”. “It’s very difficult without a full recovery of tourism”, she noted.




FORBES GEORGIA: “WORSENED ECONOMIC SITUATION, POVERTY AND COVID-19: RESULTS OF IRI SURVEY”

April 6, 2021 - International Republican Institute (IRI) held a survey in Georgia, according to which 76% of respondents consider that economic situation in the country has deteriorated over the past 12 months, the magazine reports. That includes 39%, who believe that the situation has deteriorated very much.




TABULA: “IRI: 69% BELIEVE THAT THE US IS THE MOST IMPORTANT POLITICAL PARTNER FOR GEORGIA”

April 6, 2021 - According to survey, held by International Republican Institute (IRI), 69% of respondents believe that the US is the most important political partner for Georgia, Tabula reports. The EU is considered the most important political partner by 54%.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “ANOTHER RUSSIAN DANGER FOR TOURIST SEASON AND GEORGIAN WINE SECTOR”

April 6, 2021 - After the so-called “Gavrilov Night”, the tourist season in Georgia failed, as Russia imposed ban on air traffic with Georgia, the newspaper reminds.

To remind, in June 2019, appearance of Russian State Duma Deputy Sergey Gavrilov in the chair of the Georgian Parliament speaker within the session of the Orthodox Inter-Parliamentary Assembly triggered protests in Tbilisi, which were violently dispersed by the country’s authorities.




KVIRIS PALITRA: “FROM A RIFT WITH THE EU TO AN ECONOMIC SPLIT”

April 5, 2021 - If political parties in Georgia fail to reach an agreement, members of the European Parliament threaten Georgia with financial sanctions, the newspaper writes. The article brings comments of 4 specialists on this topic.

macroeconomics & budget

TABULA: “IMF DECREASED GEORGIA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH FORECAST FROM 4.3% TO 3.5%”

April 7, 2021 - IMF updated its forecast, according to which Georgia’s economic growth in 2021 will make up 3.5%. The previous forecast envisaged growth of 4.3%, while back in October 2020, IMF expected Georgia’s economic growth of 5% in 2021, Tabula points.




REZONANSI: “BUDGET-2021 COULD NOT BE EXECUTED, NECESSITY OF ITS CUT BECAME OBVIOUS”

April 5, 2021 - Against the background of closure of economy (due to COVID-19) and regression of business, active discussion started in Georgia about the need of budget cut, the newspaper says. In this connection, the article brings comments of non-governmental organization Society and Banks and 3 specialists.

conflict and court

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: ““ENKA RENEWABLES” – WE URGE OMBUDSMAN TO STUDY FACTS OF INSULTING OUR EMPLOYEES AND THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS BY OPPONENTS OF THE PROJECT”

April 5, 2021 - Company ENKA Renewables, which implements the project of NamokhvanHES construction, urges Georgian Ombudsman Nino Lomjaria “to get interested personally in xenophobic and other discriminatory statements, made starting from autumn 2020 against persons, engaged in the NamokhvanHES project”.

The so-called “Rioni Gorge defenders” psych out the company’s employees, because of which “several dozens of company’s employees, who live in the villages of the gorge, are forced to give up their job”, statement of the company reads.




TABULA: “RIONI GORGE IS BLOCKED – RIOT POLICE UNITS ARE MOBILIZED, WATER-JET VEHICLE IS ON SITE”

April 5, 2021 - For more than 150 days, residents of Rioni Gorge have been holding actions, protesting construction of NamokhvanHES. Police units, including riot ones, and water-jet vehicle have been mobilized in the gorge, Tabula reports.

companies

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “ANOTHER COMPANY ESTABLISHED BY PARTNERSHIP FUND, “IMERETI GREENERY”, IS IN BANKRUPTCY MODE”

April 7, 2021 - Referring to business-partner.ge, the newspaper reports that agricultural company Imereti Greenery, established with participation of Georgian Partnership Fund, is in bankruptcy mode.

As the article specifies, request to start insolvency proceeding was submitted to the court by the Fund, and the court already started proceeding on this case, but the company did not interrupt a working process.

agriculture & food

TABULA: “WHY SUNFLOWER OIL ROSE IN PRICE?”

April 6, 2021 - Sakstat reported that in March, prices in the group of food and non-alcoholic beverages increased most (year-on-year) in the following subgroups: sunflower oil and fats – 35.8%; coffee, tea and cocoa – 13.7%; sugar, jam and other sweets – 13%.

Price rise of sunflower oil, which is actively used in the daily diet, caused particularly heavy consequences for the population, Tabula notes.

tourism

REZONANSI: “WE’RE GETTING TO THE POINT, WHERE SUMMER TOURIST SEASON IS DOOMED TO FAILURE”

April 8, 2021 - Maia Sidamonidze, former head of Georgian Tourism Department, points that Georgia’s “the only step forward so far was opening of borders and restoration of flights”.

However, “When there are talks in parallel regime about the third wave of coronavirus and another closure, the fate of the summer season becomes vague”, Sidamonidze says.