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Minister Levan Davitashvili: “The European Energy Community will foster a platform, which will scrutinize every available information and document”
“The dialogue is a sole source to every decision-making aspect, which requires us to get a seat around a discussion table for scrutinizing any matter” – Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Mr Levan Davitashvili stated with regard to Namakhvani HPP, at the press-conference hosted after the Government session. Minister stressed out that the European Energy Community has provided Georgia with an assistance to facilitate a platform, which will evaluate the decision-making process and each and every document and information entailed within an entire environmental assessment process.“I hope that the European Union will normalize processes, through deploying their assistance. It is a neutral, competent and independent platform, which enjoys high trust and frankly speaking – has no alternative. While the two sides remain at a different stance, the role of mediation becomes crucial, especially when the respective mediator is the European Energy Community; various problematic and conflicting matters have been successfully arranged through their assistance, including HPPs and large HPPs. We have stated that the civil society will be empowered to be engaged into assessment, as well as evaluation review process. There will be a platform, which will be open to any NGO, regardless of their environmental programming or other scope. Each of the Ministries has assigned a focal point, which will provide the respective information under their authority in a desirable format. For providing sufficient time to these organizations, we have assigned 12-months-period, for making the relevant assessments and also – scrutinize the information as required. We are providing these organizations with a one-year period for empowering them to make assessment, thus, we have a demonstrated readiness to listen to their evaluation. Moreover, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development has ensured facilitation with investors and collected their viewpoints, which will be provided to the experts. We have also ensured somewhat flexibility to the process, including the moratorium, with regard to the critical infrastructure of the process. We are open to utilizing and discussing any matter within these open formats”.