The Parliament deliberated the draft Defense Code presented by the Government of Georgia as a legislative initiative, aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the management of the defense forces and preparing a unified codified legal act in the field of defense, thus reregulating the issues related to the organization and activity of the Defense Ministry and the military service.
The speaker, Deputy Minister of Defense, Grigol Giorgadze, elaborated on the main reforms and new approaches of the system, which the mentioned document envisages.

As the speaker clarified, the Code is focused on the new rules of military service tailored to the defense goals and improving the social guarantees of the persons employed in the system of the Ministry of Defense.

The Draft re-titles the mandatory military service into the “national military service of conscripts” and reduces the term of service for the conscripts, namely – the 12-month service shall be replaced with the differentiated terms: 6 months for serving in the combat unit; 8 months – in the defense or security unit; and 11 months – for preliminarily determined majors. The conscription shall be ensured by providing the priorities of the Ministry. The conscripts may serve only in the system of the Ministry.

The recruitment will be carried out taking into account the priorities of the Ministry.

The draft of amendments, which was prepared on the basis of the model of the Finnish and Baltic countries, provides a one-time possibility of postponement of military service, and it also provides conditions for alternative military service.

"The Code re-regulates the military reform adjusting it to the defense objectives and establishes significant social guarantees for the military personnel and creates the effective legal mechanisms for interoperability with NATO defense standards”, - the Deputy Minister of Defense, Grigol Giorgadze remarked.

As an alternative to the draft Defense Code, MP Aleksandre Rakviashvili presented a legislative package.

He claims that if the supplied document is used as a foundation, the system will undergo certain adjustments.

As a result of the voting, the legislative package will ultimately be evaluated in light of the document provided by the Government's legislative proposal, which received support from 69 MPs.

Within the framework of the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package (SNGP), with the support of NATO Defense Georgia Capacity Building Trust Fund’s relevant project, NATO Support and Procurement Organization – NSPA, gifted 5 high traverse Renault vehicles to the Joint Training and Evaluation Center (JTEC). The transfer of vehicles is aimed at developing the capacity of the center, increasing mobility, and improving the logistics component.

The ceremony was attended by Deputy Minister of Defense of Georgia Zurab Azarashvili, Deputy Commander of the Defense Forces, Major General Zaza Chkhaidze, Deputy Head of the NATO Liaison Office Pirit Pikker and representatives of the NSPA.

The NATO side purchased various types of vehicles for JTEC on the basis of a grant agreement signed between NSPA and the Ministry of Defense of Georgia in 2017, the total cost of which is 1.2 million Euros.

In total, 20 vehicles were gifted to JTEC, which will significantly improve the Center’s transportation issues, which will increase the overall capacity for JTEC to operate efficiently. JTEC NATO Advisory Team was also actively involved in the project implementation.