Germany looks to ratify Association Agreement in 2015

German Bundestag (Parliament) will supposedly ratify the Association Agreement (AA) between Georgia and the European Union (EU) in the first half of next year.

This was announced after a Georgian Justice Ministry delegation met German officials at the Bundestag today.

Those who attended the meeting were German Members of Parliament, chair of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for Relations with the States of the Southern Caucasus Karin Strenz and European Committee reporter Christian Petry. The Georgian Justice Ministry delegation included two deputies and Minister Thea Tsulukiani.

At the meeting, the German side positively evaluated Georgia’s ambitious reform agenda and noted Georgia had taken "many steps forward” to implement the various reforms.

Strenz and Petry expressed pleasure over Georgia’s signing of the AA and noted Germany would likely ratify the agreement in the first half of 2015.

EU association deals must be ratified by all 28 EU member countries before they can be fully implemented.

Also during the meeting, Justice Minister Tsulukiani shared details of Georgia’s efforts following the June signing of the AA, particularly the successful completion of the first phase of visa liberalisation process.

The sides also discussed the political and legal reforms in Georgia, Georgia-EU relations and problems affecting Georgia’s occupied territories.

Tsulukiani noted that the EU can have a model of cooperation and a successful member country in the difficult region, where Georgia was located.

"Today, on one hand we are trying to deal with Russian aggression and tanks, which are standing 20 kilometers away from the capital, and on the other hand we are trying to build a European state,” Tsulukiani said.

"This is not a choice of any ministers or even of the government. This is a choice made by Georgian people a long time ago which cannot be negated by any government,” she noted.

Meanwhile also today the Justice Ministry delegation met officials from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The sides discussed the issues of legal consultations, regional cooperation and effective governance.

Thea Tsulukiani delivering a speech at Humboldt University. Photo by Justice Ministry

Afterwards, Tsulukiani and the Georgian team visited Humboldt University – one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Germany – and met with its professors and students. There the Minister delivered a speech about construction of institutional democracy in Georgia and the country’s European aspirations.

"We talked about the reforms and changes that are taking place on the way of Georgia’s European integration. The lecture was attended by many famous specialists of law, as well as Georgian and German students,” Tsulukiani noted.

"They are happy to receive detailed information about the reforms that brings Georgia’s justice system closer to European standards, including German legal culture, to which we have always been close,” she said.

Today Tsulukiani also signed a cooperation declaration with the Justice Minister of Germany Heiko Maas. It was the first time the ministries signed this type of document. The cooperation declaration envisaged sharing experience and knowledge in the process of implementing reforms.

The visit of the Georgian delegation to Germany is being held within the GIZ(German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation) project ‘Consultation for Legal and Judicial Reform in the South Caucasus’ and German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ).

Georgia’s Justice Minister is accompanied with Ministry Deputies Aleksandre Baramidze and Aleksandre Tabatdze. Their official visit will end on December 6.