Austria ratifies Georgia-EU Association Agreement

The Austrian National Council has ratified the Association Agreement (AA) between Georgia and the European Union (EU).

The legislative body of Austria voted in favour of the ratification of the Georgia-EU deal at a plenary session yesterday, July 8.

With this vote Austria became the 23rd EU country to ratify the Georgia-EU deal.

The issue was presented to the Austrian Parliament by Claudia Durchschlag, a member of the Austrian People’s Party.

The ratification process was also attended by Austria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Integration Sebastian Kurz, who delivered a speech at the session that outlined the "great importance” of cooperation between Austria and Georgia.

He also noted the Association Agreement would strengthen the relationship between Georgia and the EU.

The Georgia-EU AA deal has already been ratified by European Parliament and 23 of 28 EU member states.

EU Association deal must be ratified by all 28 EU member countries before they can be fully implemented.

The AA deal was signed by Georgia and the EU on June 27, 2014 in Brussels.