Georgia signs Association Agreement with the EU

Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili arrived to the European Council in Brussels. Photo by PM's press office.

Georgia has taken a monumental step forward and signed the Association Agreement (AA), which includes the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with the European Union (EU).

The occasion has been lauded as a historic step in which the country will make great political and economic progress.

Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili was Georgia’s representative and signed each page of the 1,135 document. President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy signed the AA document on behalf of the EU.

The document will also be signed by the EU’s 28 member state leaders.

Although it may take several years before all EU-member states ratify the agreement, the treaty envisages provisional application parts of the agreement even before EU members and the European Parliament complete the ratification process.

Georgian Parliament is expected to ratify the agreement in the second half of July.

After Georgia ratifies the AA, provisional application could start by October, 2014.

Tomorrow, June 27, 2014, will see Georgia sign the Association Agreement (AA), which includes the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with the European Union (EU), lauded as a historic step in which the country will make great political and economic progress.

Georgia’s diplomatic corps in countries across Europe are celebrating today as Georgia signs the Association Agreement (AA) with the European Union (EU) today.

President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso is calling the Association Agreements, which Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine signed today with the EU, as "the most ambitious document the European Union has entered into so far.”

Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili has addressed the nation and congratulated the country on today’s signing of the Association Agreement (AA) with European Union (EU).

The European Union (EU) has released a simplified version of Georgia’s Association Agreement (AA), which clearly states what it expects Georgia to accomplish in the next three years as it moves towards becoming a member of the EU.

From today Georgia is able to export its products to the European Union’s (EU) marketplace, which boasts a population of 500 million, with no custom tariffs.

Signing the Association Agreement (AA) with the European Union (EU) and adoption of the NATO Substantial Package are among the top achievements of Georgia's Foreign Ministry in the past two years, says Foreign Minister Tamar Beruchashvili.

The European Union has published its Association Implementation Report on Georgia, which says that the country ‘continued steadily on its European path including in the challenging COVID -19 context’. The document published earlier today reads that Georgia ‘has remained committed to the implementation, obligations and undertakings of the Association Agreement, despite COVID -19 related challenges’.

“I believe that European unity needs Georgia as much as we need Europe”, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has stated, congratulating everyone on Europe Day today.

Seven years ago on June 27, Georgia signed the Association Agreement (AA) with the European Union in Brussels, which includes the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area ( DCFTA ). EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell congratulated Georgia on the anniversary, calling the Association Agreement ‘the anchor of our close relationship’.

The signing of Georgia’s European Union membership application by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili was “symbolic”, Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, said on Friday.

The Georgian Parliament approved a bill on Consumer Protection in a third reading with a total of 79 votes on March 29.

The newly-adopted bill establishes rules for consumer protection and prohibits “unfair commercial practices,” that violate the values of “trust and good faith.”

Georgia has made “significant progress” on its path to European Union membership over the recent years, Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chairman of ruling Georgian Dream party, said on Tuesday at the Parliament.

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday marked the 8th anniversary since the signing of Georgia’s Association Agreement with the European Union, calling it “successful in unleashing the potential of Europeanisation" of Georgia.

The European Union has welcomed Georgia's adoption of the Law on Protection of Consumer Rights and the launch of its implementation, the National Communications Commission of Georgia announced on Friday.