23:50, 14 July 2010

EU gives Georgia 23 million euros for refugees' needs

On July 13, Per Eklund, head of the representative office of the European Union (EU) in Tbilisi, and Kakha Baindurashvili, Minister of Finance of Georgia, signed a document, according to which the EU would allocate 23 million euros to the needs of Georgian refugees.

After signing the document, Me Eklund said that the money is intended to improve refugees' living conditions. "We do a lot to assist integration of this population, but it's a difficult process," he noted.

As stated by Mr Baindurashvili, it is a part of the great help of 4.5 billion US dollars, allocated to Georgia by the international community.

According to Koba Subeliani, Minister on Matters of Persecuted Persons from Occupied Territories, Refugees and Accommodation, in the near future the EU's grant will be spent to repair houses of refugees from Abkhazia, and within a year - a total of 180 objects, reports "Our Abkhazia".