The Development of an Institutional Framework for the Implementation of the Association Agreements in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine: a comparative perspective

In 2014 the EU concluded Association Agreements, including the creation of a Comprehensive Free Trade Areas with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. These were amongst the most complex and comprehensive legal treaties concluded by the EU with third countries. The treaties placed a profound obligation on the partner countries of legal approximation, that is, to undertake extensive, binding commitments to adopt vast swathes of the acquis in order to stimulate political and economic development and institutional modernisation.

This study showed that creating the institutional framework for implementation was a challenging and drawn-out process. While all countries had made some progress with devising these mechanisms, they were short of the necessary political leadership, policy planning, administrative capacity and there was a dearth of budgetary planning to enable effective implementation. There was also a notable need to embed implementation into wider reform strategies. While these issues were being addressed on the part of the countries, the EU could ssist them by providing the necessary systemic support in an integrated, sequenced and long-term way.

European Parliament: European Parliamentary Research Service: Study, September 2018: The Development of an Institutional Framework for the Implementation of the Association Agreements in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine: a comparative perspective http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2018/603879/EXPO_STU(2018)603879_EN.pdf

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