Proposal for a Decision on the position to be adopted in the Association Council established by the Association Agreement between the European Union and Georgia, in relation to the adoption of the rules of procedure of the Association Council and of the Association Committee, the establishment of two subcommittees, and the delegation of certain powers by the Association Council to the Association Committee in Trade configuration

On 10 May 2010, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations for a new comprehensive and ambitious Association Agreement, including its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) part. Negotiations of this comprehensive and ambitious Agreement between the EU and Georgia were launched in July 2010. Negotiations on the DCFTA part of the Agreement were launched in February 2012. On 29 November 2013 the European Union and Georgia initialled the text of the Agreement.

The Association Agreement is the most advanced agreement of this type ever negotiated by the EU, in particular with regard to trade and economic integration, going far beyond a simple market opening. The aim is to accelerate the deepening of political and economic relations between Georgia and the EU, as well as to advance Georgia's gradual economic integration with the EU Internal Market in selected areas, notably through establishing a DCFTA.

On 16 June 2014, the Council adopted its decision on the signing and provisional application of certain provisions of the Association Agreement, including its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) part. Subsequently, the Agreement was signed in Brussels on 27 June 2014 in the margins of the European Council.

Georgia ratified the Agreement on 18 July 2014 and completed, in parellel with the European Union, the requisite notification procedures within the same month. Consequently, in accordance with Article 431 of the Agreement certain provisions thereof are applied on a provisional basis starting from 1 September 2014, pending ratification by the EU Member States.

The provisional application is foreseen in view of keeping mutual economic interests and shared values in equilibrium, and the common will of the EU and Georgia to start implementing and enforcing the eligible parts of the Agreement in order to advance an early reform impact on sector-specific issues before the conclusion of the Agreement.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)636: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:636:FIN

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