GCCPA Holds Meeting with EU Experts and Media

Georgia: The Georgian Competition and Consumer Protection Agency (GCCPA) hosted a working meeting with media representatives and European Union experts on Wednesday, February 2, 2024. 

The meeting was supported by the EU-financed TWINNING project, which aims to strengthen the institutional capacity of the GCCPA and promote the alignment of Georgian legislation and standards with the EU acquis.

The meeting was opened by Irakli Lekvinadze, the Chairman of the GCCPA, who briefed the participants on the reforms implemented in the competition and consumer rights policy, the critical cases that changed the rules of behaviour on the market, and the results achieved in 2023. He also highlighted the challenges and opportunities for further cooperation with the EU.

The meeting was held in a question-and-answer mode, with up to 40 representatives of TV, radio and online media, as well as experts and employees of the GCCPA. The media representatives could ask questions and receive clarifications from the GCCPA officials and the EU experts.

The meeting participants were also addressed by Justina Paulauskaite, the permanent resident advisor of the TWINNING project, who praised the progress made by the GCCPA and expressed the EU’s continued support for its development. 

She also introduced the presentations of Goda Alexite, the Head of the Lithuanian Consumer Rights Authority, and Stefan Ruem, the Deputy Head of the Legal Service of the Austrian Federal Competition Authority, who shared their experiences and best practices in the fields of competition and consumer protection, as well as the current trends and challenges in the EU.

The meeting was part of the TWINNING project activities, which started in September 2023 and will last for 24 months. The project involves the exchange of expertise and know-how between the GCCPA and its counterparts from Lithuania and Austria, as well as providing training, workshops, study visits, and other technical assistance. 

The project aims to enhance the GCCPA’s ability to effectively enforce the competition and consumer protection laws, to raise public awareness and advocacy, and to foster a culture of fair competition and consumer rights in Georgia.