Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken in the Trade and Sustainable Development Sub-Committee and in the Association Committee in Trade configuration established by the Association Agreement between the European Union and Georgia

Background and further information:

The Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Georgia, of the other part was signed on 27 June 2014, and has been provisionally applied, pending ratification by the Member States, since 1 September 2014.

The Agreement established the Association Committee in Trade configuration, which monitors the implementation of Title IV (Trade and Trade-related matters) of the Agreement and resolves related issues. This Committee has to establish a list of arbitrators to ensure the proper functioning of the dispute settlement mechanism.

The Agreement also provides for the establishment of the Trade and Sustainable Development Sub-Committee, which is to reaffirm the commitment of both parties of the Agreement to pursue sustainable development and recognise that economic development, social development and environmental protection are its interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars. The Sub-Committee is to agree at its first meeting on the list of individuals who are willing and able to serve as experts in panel procedures on trade and sustainable development.

The attached proposal constitutes the legal instrument for establishing the Union positions to be adopted in these Committees.