Communications Commission member Ekaterine Imedadze took part in an event organised by the Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency (GCCA), which was held in round-table format and involved national regulatory bodies. The meeting served to strengthen the policy on competition, improve legal enforcement and share the best international practices. The main issues discussed at the event were the effective mechanisms for enforcing competition law in regulated sectors, as well the challenges and results achieved at domestic and international levels. 

During the discussion, Ekaterine Imedadze focussed on the strategic tasks for developing the telecom and media sector in Georgia: “Effective enforcement of the competition law framework, as well as the introduction of preliminary regulation mechanisms in the telecommunication services segment, are of the utmost importance, both in terms of effective enforcement of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement and significantly improving the EU's periodic assessment of Georgia as a candidate country. 

In her speech, Ms Imedadze also highlighted the challenges that exist on the Georgian telecom market, and the steps taken by the Communications Commission to gradually eliminate these problems: “Enhanced access to telecom and media services, and the existence of innovative and diverse offers, is one of the most important prerequisites for the development of the digital economy in our country. Furthermore, according to recent studies, overcoming the digital divide involves several steps, namely the provision of physical access (telecom infrastructure), economic access, development of digital skills, and safe and secure services. In this regard, the active involvement of small and medium enterprises in the telecom economy is of fundamental importance. Thus, it is necessary to assess what barriers exist in the country's telecommunication market so that customers can receive high-quality and diverse telecom services. To this end, enhancing competition on the telecom market will remain a matter of priority for the Communications Commission,” Ms Imedadze stated. 

Apart from Ekaterine Imedadze, participants at the round table included GCCA chairman Irakli Lekvianidze, Acting First Vice-President of the National Bank of Georgia Natia Turnava, Chairman of the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission Davit Narmania, and Head of Insurance State Supervision Service of Georgia Davit Onoprishvili. Other participants included employees of the Competition Council of Lithuania and the Federal Competition Authority of Austria, representatives from regulators, industry experts, and members of Parliament. 

The Communications Commission prioritises cooperation with fellow regulators, other industry representatives and stakeholders for the purpose of sharing experience.