A joint statement of the European Commission and Vice Prime-Minister Giorgi Baramidze obtained by Georgia Today states that increased financial assistance by Europe is conditional on democratic reform in Georgia, and reaffirms the European Neighborhood Policy as the main political instrument in bilateral relations. Attached to the statement, which governs the disbursal of up to 500 million Euros in 2008-2010, is a letter signed by Baramidze in which Georgia undertakes not to spend European money on the military. In addition, Baramidze’s letter promises increased scrutiny by parliament, greater independence of the judiciary, and improved media freedom. The government also commits itself to resettling people displaced by the wars of 1992-1993 and 2008 in line with its existing IDP State Strategy, Reintegration Concept, and an IDP Action Plan which is yet to be adopted. The release of the statement by the European Commission was cautiously welcomed by Tamuna Karosanidze, Executive Director of Transparency International Georgia, whose organization supplied Georgia Today with a copy of the document. “We strongly welcome the European Commission’s decision to put its conditions into the public realm,” said Karosanidze, noting that her organization had lobbied the commission to release the three page document to the public. “This is a huge step forward for aid transparency in Georgia. The European Commission is sending a loud and clear signal to other donors that giving aid behind closed doors is no longer acceptable here.” She pointed out that last year, donor representatives meeting in Accra, Ghana, had promised to immediately publicize all conditions linked to aid disbursements. “It is good to see that the European Commission is taking these promises seriously,” Karosanidze said. (Earlier this week, Transparency International Georgia had severely criticized the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for excluding independent observers from a billion-dollar aid meeting between donors and the United Nations in Tbilisi.) According to Baramidze’s letter, “additional EC funding… will be aimed exclusively at supporting civilian measures of humanitarian assistance and economic rehabilitation as well as macro-financial stability.” No detailed breakdown of aid allocations is provided. The joint statement – which is co-signed by EC Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner – states that financial assistance will be delivered using “appropriate criteria of transparency, accountability and sound management of public finances”. The statement does not specify possible sanctions, such as suspension of aid, in the case of non-compliance. While Transparency International Georgia welcomed the broad outlines set out in the document, the devil is in the detail, Karosanidze said. “It will be difficult to hold the government accountable for its commitments on the basis of this document alone. For example, only five words are devoted to the media.” Baramidze’s letter mentions “improved freedom of the media” as a single bullet point. “There is an urgent need for the European Commission to develop and publicize clear objective benchmarks against which the government’s future progress on its commitments can be measured,” Karosanidze commented. “The EC has taken a step in the right direction, with good intentions. Now it is time to get specific.”