The Committee, presided by the Chair, Kakha Kuchava, discussed the bill on Ambient Air with the II reading, introduced by the Deputy Environmental Minister, Nino Tandilashvili.

She overviewed the remarks introduced at the I reading stating that all issues revealed by the Committee within the inquiry have been shared. The bill envisages monitoring and management of ambient air quality. As stressed, the bill is based on the Association Agreement between Georgia and EU, and European Atomic Energy Community and its member states binding Georgia to ensure legal approximation with the EU legal acts and international legal instruments. The territory of Georgia shall be partitioned into the zones and agglomerates for air quality monitoring, which shall be approved under the legal acts of the Environmental Minister. The bill also aims at establishment of the assessment modes through the modeling and empiric methods and thus, improvement of the monitoring system.

MPs agreed to hold the enlarged meeting prior to approval of the bill. The reporter also introduced the bill on Creation and Management of Javakheti Protected Areas entailed with protection of the populations of the globally vulnerable and national importance and the natural eco-systems of national and international importance on Javakheti Land and elimination of degradation of their habitats. The bill extends the protected area.

The First Deputy Economic Minister, Eka Mikabadze introduced with the I reading the bills on Energy Labeling and on State Procurements. The Association Agreement between Georgia and the EU, and between the European Atomic Energy Community and its member states envisages approximation of Georgian legislation with the EU requirements aiming at establishment of the competitive energy market.

The bill envisages implementation of the Directives of the Document of May 19, 2010 on Energy Consumption and Standard Information in the national legislation. The bill allows the consumer receiving the comprehensive information about energy supplied to the market, and consumption of other resources. The oversight is assigned to the special structural unit in the Ministry. Enactment of the law entails indication of the standard information about the energy consumption product at the market for free choice of the consumers.

The Committee initiated the bill on Waste Management Code. According to K. Kuchava, the changes have been developed in cooperation with the Environmental Ministry and concern extension of the term for the petty companies producing up to 2 tons of non-hazardous wastes and up to 120 kg of hazardous wastes.

Gogi Meshveliani and Giorgi Gachechiladze have been designated as the reporters.

The initiative will be soon submitted to the Bureau.

The Committee approved all considered issues.