Mr. Stefano Tomat, the EU Civilian Operations Commander, visited the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia on 22-23 February 2023. He was welcomed by the recently appointed EUMM Head of Mission, Mr. Dimitrios Karabalis.

On Wednesday, Mr. Tomat participated in a patrol to the South Ossetian Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) in the Khurvaleti area, where the Mission staff briefed him on recent security and humanitarian developments on the ground. Out in the field, Mr. Tomat witnessed the detrimental impact of  ‘borderisation’ activities on the freedom of movement of the local population, and their access to education, healthcare, property or religious sites.

On Thursday, Mr. Tomat conducted meetings with Ambassadors of EU member states, representatives of the EU family in Georgia, and the Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Teimuraz Janjalia.

Civilian Operations Commander Tomat said:  “I want to express my deepest appreciation to the EUMM experts for their commitment to bring stability to the EU neighbourhood, here in Georgia, despite the often-challenging circumstances. Thanks to their resilience and professionalism the Mission was able to remain fully operational during the challenges 2022 brought”,.

Head of Mission Karabalis said: “Together with the renewal of our mandate last December, the visit of the Civilian Operations Commander further demonstrates the strong and long-term commitment of the EU to stability and security in Georgia and the wider region”.