The Council of Europe Project “Supporting Freedom of Expression and Media in Georgia (SFEM-GE)” was launched on 1 January 2024 and will be implemented during 24 months. The Project is funded by the voluntarily contributions of donors in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Georgia 2024-2027. The Project’s total budget is EUR 780.000.

It is a follow-up action to the Council of Europe Project “Strengthening Media Freedom, Internet Governance and Personal Data Protection in Georgia” (SMIP-GE), implemented in 2021-2023 and built upon its achievements. During that period the Council of Europe achieved noteworthy progress in various domains and contributed to Georgia's EU candidacy agenda. The reform of the Law on Broadcasting, incorporating 30 out of 64 Council of Europe recommendations, brought it in line with the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive. The establishment of the Georgian Anti-SLAPPs Platform and the commitment of law enforcement bodies to improve investigation and data collection on crimes against journalists envisaged in the draft National Human Rights Action Plan of Georgia demonstrate further promotion of safety of journalists in the country. Progress was made in terms of inter-agency cooperation aimed at ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Public Documents (Tromsø Convention).

Activities of the “Supporting Freedom of Expression and Media in Georgia (SFEM-GE)” Project are structured around three components focusing on:

Component 1: Enhanced implementation of media regulatory and self-regulatory standards;

Component 2: Re-enforced frameworks tackling impunity for crimes against media actors;

Component 3:  Enhanced adherence and application to European standards on access to information.

The key partners of the Project are Communications Commission; Parliament of Georgia; Law enforcement Agencies; Civil Society Organisations, including Media Advocacy Coalition; Charter of Journalistic Ethics.