Georgia and the European Union

European Union Georgia

Georgia is a state in the Caucasus that has long-term plans tojointhe European Union (EU). Georgia is a member of the Council of Europe . Georgia has been linked to the EU through the Eastern Partnership since2009and as a member of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA)since 2014. It also participates in the EU programs European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) and TRACECA .

history

Georgia became independent in 1991, before that it was a union republic ( member state ) of the now dissolved Soviet Union . Georgia has been striving for close ties to the EU since Mikheil Saakashvili's presidency . In his first address to the European Parliament, Saakashvili campaigned for the prospect of membership. Historically speaking, Georgia is an old European country that has transformed from post-Soviet chaos into a market-based democracy in the last three years, he declared in Strasbourg in 2006.

The 2008 Caucasus War slowed rapprochement with the European Union. President Saakashvili blamed the EU for the military conflict because it had not taken seriously his warnings about a Russian troop concentration on the Georgian border. On September 15, 2008, the EU decided to send a monitoring mission to Georgia. Two weeks later, the operational phase of the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) started for Georgia. The staff of 350 employees in headquarters and staff as well as 200 observers were supported by 22 EU member states.

Even if the military conflict between Georgia and Russia has pushed Georgia’s EU membership a long way off, the EU is trying to strengthen relations. In May 2009, Brussels established the Eastern Partnership with Georgia and five other former Soviet republics for this purpose .

Association Agreement

In November 2013, Georgia and Moldova each initialed an Association Agreement with the EU as part of the Eastern Partnership . The agreements were signed in Brussels on June 27, 2014. The Ukraine signed an analog Agreement, which entered into force but was postponed after trilateral talks by mutual agreement on December 31, 2015, to take into account Russian concerns. The Association Agreement with Georgia has already been ratified by all member states as well as by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union and entered into full force on July 1, 2016. Georgia has thus made a number of commitments in the areas of democracy, the rule of law , human rights and fundamental freedoms, good governance, market economy and sustainable development.

Since September 1, 2014, essential parts of the Association Agreement have been applied. In 2016 alone, Georgian exports to the EU increased by 16%.

ratification

Signatory	date	institution			Abstentions	Deposited	proof
Belgium	April 23, 2015	Chamber of Deputies	101	17th	20th	February 1, 2016
		royal approval
Bulgaria	July 24, 2014	National Assembly	91	0	0	September 9, 2014
	July 28, 2014	Approval of the president	granted
Denmark	December 18, 2014	houses of Parliament	101	7th	0	February 18, 2015
		royal approval
Germany	19th December 2014	Federal Council	accepted			July 22, 2015
	March 26, 2015	Bundestag	accepted
	May 27, 2015	Approval of the president	granted
Estonia	4th November 2014	Assembly	66	0	0	January 12, 2015
	November 13, 2014	Approval of the president
European Union and Euratom	December 18, 2014	European Parliament	490	76	57	April 19 (Euratom) and May 23, 2016 (EU)
		Council of the European Union
Finland	March 10, 2015	houses of Parliament	agreed			May 6, 2015
	April 24, 2015	Approval of the president	granted
France	October 29, 2015	senate	accepted			December 15, 2015
	June 25, 2015	National Assembly	accepted
	November 9, 2015	Approval of the president	granted
Greece	18th November 2015	houses of Parliament	agreed			December 14, 2015
	November 24, 2015	Copy of the President	granted
Ireland	January 27, 2015	House of Representatives	58	19th	0	17th April 2015
Italy	November 26, 2015	senate	202	37	10	3rd February 2016
	July 29, 2015	Chamber of Deputies	310	93	34
	December 7, 2015	Approval of the president	granted
Croatia	December 12, 2014	houses of Parliament	116	0	1	March 24, 2015
	December 18, 2014	Approval of the president
Latvia	July 14, 2014	houses of Parliament	81	0	0	2nd October 2014
	July 18, 2014	Approval of the president	granted
Lithuania	July 8, 2014	houses of Parliament	84	0	1	29th July 2014
	July 11, 2014	Approval of the president	granted
Luxembourg	March 18, 2015	Chamber of Deputies	55	2	0	May 12, 2015
	April 12, 2015	Copy of the Grand Duke	made out
Malta	August 21, 2014	houses of Parliament	approved			29th August 2014
Netherlands	July 7, 2015	senate	accepted			September 21, 2015
	April 7, 2015	House of Representatives	119	31	0
	July 28, 2015	royal copy	displayed
Austria	23rd July 2015	Federal Council
	July 8, 2015	National Council	accepted
	August 28, 2015	Consent of the Federal President	August 28, 2015
Poland	5th March 2015	senate	75	0	0	May 22, 2015
	February 6, 2015	House of Representatives	439	0	1
	26th of March	Approval of the president	granted
Portugal	2nd April 2015	National Assembly	agreed			October 8, 2015
	19th May 2015	Approval of the president
Romania	2nd July 2014	Chamber of Deputies	298	0	0	July 14, 2014
	3rd July 2014	senate	111	0	2
	July 9, 2014	Approval of the president	granted
Sweden	November 26, 2014	houses of Parliament	249	44	0	January 9, 2015
Slovakia	23rd September 2014	National Council	117	0	1	October 21, 2014
	October 16, 2014	Approval of the president	granted
Slovenia	May 13, 2015	National Assembly	69	3	0	July 27, 2015
	May 21, 2015	Approval of the president
Spain	May 27, 2015	senate	accepted			July 28, 2015
	April 30, 2015	Congress of Deputies	303	0	1
		royal approval	granted
Czech Republic	March 18, 2015	senate	56	0	6th	June 12, 2015
	April 29, 2015	Chamber of Deputies	116	1	51
	19th May 2015	Approval of the president	granted
Hungary	November 25, 2014	National Assembly	127	6th	0	April 7, 2015
	5th December 2014	Approval of the president	granted
United Kingdom	February 23, 2015	House of Commons	agreed			April 8, 2015
	March 9, 2015	House of Lords	agreed
	19th March 2015	royal approval	made out
Cyprus	May 7, 2015	House of Representatives	accepted			August 18, 2015
	May 22, 2015	Approval of the president	agreed

Web links

• The Delegation of the European Union to Georgia (EU Delegation in Georgia; English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ "President of Georgia promotes rapprochement with the EU in Strasbourg" , Deutsche Welle , November 16, 2006.
2. ↑ Michael THORMAEHLEN: Association agreements with Georgia and the Republic of Moldova come into force - Germany - European Commission. July 1, 2016, accessed December 3, 2017 . 
3. ↑ European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - Association Agreement between the EU and Georgia enters into full force. Retrieved December 3, 2017 . 
4. ↑ http://www.bundesrat.de/SharedDocs/downloads/DE/plenarprotocol/2014/Plenarprotokoll-929.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2
5. ↑ tagesschau.de: Association agreement approved ( Memento from March 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) March 26, 2015
6. ↑ European Parliament ratifies EU-Georgia association deal