4 non-governmental organizations call on the Georgian government to comply with the recommendation of the European Commission, to return to the OECD/ACN process and not to hinder the country's European integration process.

According to their reports, Georgia does not have a national anti-corruption strategy and action plan for the fourth year, which directly indicates that the fight against corruption at the national level has actually stopped.

"The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published the reports of the 5th round of anti-corruption environment monitoring of Azerbaijan, Moldova, Armenia and Ukraine, prepared by the Anti-Corruption Network (OECD/ACN).

Georgia is the only country that refused to participate in the 5th round of monitoring, which was aimed at evaluating the country's anti-corruption reforms in the following areas: national anti-corruption policy, independence of the judiciary, independence of the prosecutor's office, response to corruption offenses, specialized anti-corruption institutions, business integrity, public procurement, whistleblower protection , conflict of interest and property declarations.

The government tried to stall the OECD/ACN process as far back as 2021 when the Round 5 pilot report was being prepared. Due to criticism of anti-corruption reforms, especially the independent judiciary and prosecution component, the government resisted making the report public. In 2023, the government of Georgia refused to participate in the monitoring round for the first time in 20 years.

After the creation of the anti-corruption bureau, there was hope that Georgia would return to this process, but this has not happened yet. Assessing the country's anti-corruption environment and identifying challenges is critically important for the Anti-Corruption Bureau, as this agency is responsible for developing policy documents. "For the fourth year, Georgia does not have a national anti-corruption strategy and action plan, which directly indicates that the fight against corruption at the national level has actually stopped," said the information released by the organizations.

"Georgia, at one time the champion of anti-corruption reforms in the region, refused to participate in the 5th round of monitoring. The OECD calls on Georgia to reconsider this decision and rejoin the peer review program to continue the fight against corruption," the OECD said in a statement.

In addition, the OECD also calls on countries to stop harassing civil society organizations, protect them from threats and persecution, and ensure their involvement in anti-corruption reforms.

The European Commission also calls for Georgia to return to the OECD/ACN process. In the report prepared in November 2023, it is mentioned that the European Commission expects the Georgian government to cancel the decision to withdraw from the OECD/ACN monitoring process and also to fully implement the recommendations of the previous monitoring rounds.

The signatory organizations once again call on the government of Georgia to comply with the European Commission's recommendation, to return to the OECD/ACN process and not to hinder the country's European integration process," says the information signed by "Transparency International - Georgia (TI)"; "Georgia Young Lawyers Association (GYLA)"; The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) and the Governance Monitoring Center (GMC) write.