The Council of Europe office in Georgia launched its new cooperation project “Supporting Freedom of Expression and Media in Georgia (SFEM-GE).” It builds upon the Council of Europe’s previous project “Strengthening Media Freedom, Internet Governance and Personal Data Protection in Georgia (SMIP-GE)” and will be implemented over the period of 2024-2025.

The two-year project addresses the freedom of expression related cooperation needs, outlined in the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2024-2027 and also responds to the priorities set for Georgia’s further integration into the European Union, by:

• Implementing media regulatory framework in line with the European standards
• Harmonising the law and practice of safety of journalists with the Council of Europe standards
• Adhering to the Council of Europe standards in the field of access to information.

The event was opened by Natalia Voutova, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia, Shahin Abbasov, Project Manager in the Council of Europe’s division for Cooperation and Capacity Building on Freedom of Expression, Tamar Gvaramadze, First Deputy Public Defender of Georgia and Natia Songhulashvili, Deputy Head of the Special Investigation Service of Georgia.

The Council of Europe experts shared information on the achievements of the previous cooperation project in the field of media regulation and safety of journalists. This session was followed by the presentation of the Council of Europe campaign “Journalists matter”, promoting press freedom and protection of journalists from violence/threats/harassment when performing journalistic duties.

The event allowed the project stakeholders, representing various governmental and non-governmental institutions (Public Defender’s office, Communications Commission, Special Investigation Service, and General Prosecutor’s Office), to share their priorities for future cooperation with the Council of Europe and to give the fruitful cooperation examples of the previous project.

The launch was followed by the 1^st Steering Committee meeting of the Project, aimed at discussing the planned actions among the partner institutions.

The activity was organised in the framework of the Project “Supporting Freedom of Expression and Media in Georgia (SFEM-GE)”, which is funded through the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2024-2027.