Georgia in European Discourses: Austrian Perspective

On 11 April The Georgian Institute of Politics hosted the public discussion: “Georgia in European Discourses: Austrian Perspective” at Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF). The event was made possible with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Austria and in partnership with the Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF).

Three speakers addressed Austrian foreign policy discourses and priorities and how they relate to Georgia and other Eastern Partnership countries. Guest speakers included:

• Johann Wolfschwenger, Gem-Stones Doctoral Fellow. Phd position in international relations & EU Studies on “The European external action service’s role in framing responses to emerging security crises”.
• H.E. Arad Benkö, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to Georgia.
• Paata Gaprindashvili, a former Ambassador of Georgia to the Republic of Austria 2009-2013, Director of Georgia’s Reforms Associates (GRASS).

The event is part of a series of public discussions called “Georgia in European Politics” (Previous events from this series: French Perspective; Italian Perspective). While the country is actively engaged in the EU integration process, Georgia is part of Europe in rhetoric, but in reality, there is quite limited knowledge about the actual EU realities and perceptions towards Georgia, and implications of international developments to Georgia. Through “Georgia in European Politics” discussions we aim to better understand the issues that drive foreign policy in the EU member states, especially when it comes to EaP and Georgia’s integration.