1. Ministry of Finance of Georgia Fiscal Transparency Natia Gulua Head of Budget Policy Division Budget Department – MOF E-mail: n.Gulua@mof.ge 2016

2. Public Finance Management Reform www.mof.ge 2 2004 Single Treasury Account 2005 MTEF - Basic Data and Directions document (BDD Document); 2009 New Budget Code 2011 E-Budget is activated, which is integrated with Single Treasury Account -E-Treasury 2012 Program Budget on State Budget Level 2013 Program Budget on Municipal Level 2015 All budget organizations are fully integrated in Single Treasury Account; Accounting system became more transparent 2016 State Budget is prepared according updated Program Budget Methodology

3. Budget Code 7 Principles www.mof.ge 3 Comprehensiveness TransparencyUniversalityConsolidationAccountabilityIndependence Unity Budget Code According to the Budget Code of Georgia, transparency is one of the principles of the Budget System of Georgia. Currently, the Parliament, the Government and the Ministry of Finance of Georgia ensure publication and access to draft law on annual state budget, approved state budget and its execution reports. The public is informed about budget process through various presentations as well as publication of the relevant documents online. However, there is no formal mechanism for managing these processes.

4. OGP Commitments for 2014-2015 www.mof.ge 4 Main Objective – Establish an Effective Mechanism to inform the Public on Budgetary Processes Risks and Assumptions - Difficulties related to the elaboration of simple mechanism for informing public on the issues of complex budgetary process Milestones to fulfill the commitments: Ensure publicity of budget related documents Provide public with interactive questionnaires at different stages of budgetary process through web-sites of the Ministry of Finance and spending agencies Prepare and publish informative presentations on the draft law on state budget, law on state budget and budget executions reports

5. Ensure Publicity of Budget Documents www.mof.ge 5  Ensure Publicity of Budget related documents: Budget information (analytical data, macroeconomic data, BDD, State Budget, statistics on State Budget, execution reports, Budget Legislation, Budget Calendar etc.) is available on MOF website (http://mof.ge/4536);http://mof.ge/4536  Citizens guide is available on the MOF website  Fiscal Governance document is prepared and is available on MOF website  2016 draft State Budget was discussed with civil society, citizens and different interested groups of people by members of Parliament (Finance-Budget Committee), MOF, different line ministries and City Councils.

6. Online Survey www.mof.ge 6  “Take part in the planning of the budget and determine the priority areas” - availability of public participation in the survey on the MOF website (http://survey.mof.ge/)

7. Open Budget Survey – General Review www.mof.ge 7 The International Budget Partnership’s Open Budget Survey (OBS) is the world’s only independent, comparable measure of budget transparency, participation, and oversight. The Open Budget Survey 2015 examines 102 countries from around the world, measuring three aspects of how governments are managing public finances.  Budget transparency;  Budget participation;  Budget oversight.  Survey is conducted once in two years.  Countries’ score is from 0 to 100.  Government has a chance to express position on the assessment of the survey.

8. Open Budget Index of Georgia - 2006-2015 www.mof.ge 8 2006 The basic requirements for budgetary transparency are in place in Georgia. According to Open Budget Survey 2015 Georgia received relatively good marks – 66 and is ranked 16th among 102 countries in the world (according to the same survey in 2012 Georgia received 55 and ranked 33rd) and is among substantial transparent countries. 20082010 2012 2015

9. Open Budget Index by different groups - 2015 www.mof.ge 9 Georgia ranked 66 and is among substantially transparent countries, which are total 19.

10. Open Budget Index - 2015 www.mof.ge 10

11. Open Budget Index in substantially transparent countries - 2015 www.mof.ge 11 Substantially transparent countries ( Group II - 1 9 countries; 61-80):

12. Future Plans www.mof.ge 12 The 2015 Open Budget Survey suggested a number of issues to improve transparency and participation, some of which are already in progress:  Provides sufficient Information in 2015. Provides Citizens Budget. Provides In-year and Year-end reports.  Ensuring public engagement and participation in Budget process still is the challenge. Support Establishment of a Platform/Mechanism for Enhancing NGO and Citizenship Inclusion in the Budget Process and Contributing to Transparency and Participation  Drawing on a summary of international best practice relevant to Georgia across the OECD and EU;  To organize the scheme and meetings/working groups in the initial stage;  To establish the appropriate platform/mechanism that enhances citizenship participation in the budget process, ensures productive dialogue between the government and NGOs for participatory budgeting, and contributes to transparency and community inclusion.

13. Thank You 2016