EU-Georgia: Heading to Ever-Closer Ties

If you want to know what Georgian figureheads think about Georgia’s European choice, a new magazine titled "Georgia’s European Way”, created by the Office of the State Minister of Georgia on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, is the right reading for you.

The magazine includes a variety of topics, from the mood of the country as it makes its way towards Europe to the perceive effect the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) Agreement will have on Georgia’s economy. The Church’s perspective on Georgia’s European way and comments from His Holiness and Beatitude, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, are also included in the magazine.

You can also find comments of Prime Minister of Georgia Mr. Irakli Garibashvili and EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Stefan Fule, inside the edition.

"Georgia's European Way" will be distributed among Georgian Embassies abroad, diplomatic corps accredited in Georgia, as well as research institutions, Think Tanks and non-governmental organizations.

Today we offer you Stefan Fule’s address. Read more in the online version of "Georgia’s European Way”.

Over the last few years the EU and Georgia have enjoyed intensive and wide-ranging bilateral contacts that have resulted in a unique relationship based on a firm commitment by consecutive Georgian governments to European values and European integration. Our unique relationship will be elevated to a new level this summer by the signature of an unprecedented agreement which brings Georgia and its people closer to the European Union. 

The Association Agreement, including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, represents a blueprint for reform and modernisation. It is an instrument to bring more Europe to Georgia, to bring it closer to the EU politically, and to integrate it economically for the mutual benefit of citizens and businesses on both sides.

We initialled the Association Agreement/DCFTA last November at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius and we look forward to its signature by the end of August this year.

Signing of the Association Agreement by Georgian Foreign Affairs Minister Maya Panjikidze and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton.Vilnius EaP Summit, 29.11.2013. Photo by MFA of Georgia. 

Signing the Agreement and proceeding swiftly with its provisional application is an ambitious goal on a long and challenging journey, during which Georgia will need to maintain the good progress on its reform agenda in order to reap the most benefits from this new and advanced relationship.

The EU is following developments in Georgia very closely. We continue to insist on respect for our shared values and on the sustainability of the reform process centred on the European agenda. This includes due attention to the defence of political pluralism and media freedom, as well as ensuring that criminal prosecutions are transparent, free of political motivation, impartial, and fully in line with democratic values. We will also keep stressing the Government's responsibility when it comes to the protection of minority rights. We very much hope that the proposed anti-discrimination law will be adopted without delay.

When it comes to the AA/DCFTA, it is important that we now explain its benefits to the wider population. The text of the Agreement is already published and everyone can see what the document is about. This will expose the myths about the AA and DCFTA which are being spread by some who do not want to see a modernised Georgia with higher standards of democracy.

Signing of the /DCFTA  by Georgian Minister of Economy Giorgi Kvirikashvili and the European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht. Vilnius EaP Summit, 29.11.2013. Photo by MFA of Georgia. 

The AA/DCFTA is an investment in Georgia's future: the Agreements will attract investments, create jobs, and stimulate growth in a way which far outweighs the effort involved in implementing them. The idea is to modernise Georgia, to deliver predictable governance and administration, and to enhance its competitiveness so that it can fully exploit the new opportunities which the Agreement creates for access to the European market. In the long term, the Association Agreement will provide the framework for Georgia to get on a par with the countries of the EU economically, socially, and environmentally. 

Based on past experience, and according to independent studies, this Agreement, especially its free trade part, will boost trade between the EU and Georgia. Exports are estimated to increase by 9% and 12% in the short and long term respectively, with imports going up by 4.4% and 7.5% respectively.

The DCFTA is expected to boost the GDP of Georgia by 4.3%, provided that reforms are completed. Average wages in Georgia are projected to increase 3.6 % in the long run, while the overall consumer price index is expected to decrease by about 0.6%. This implies that, on average, the purchasing power of Georgian citizens should increase.

The essence of our policy towards Georgia and our other Eastern Partners is to move away from opportunities for the few to create new opportunities for the many. This is why we put so much focus on people to people contacts, especially on mobility as expressed in our efforts to ease visa requirements for citizens. We also seek to create networks between the EU and its partners across all sectors of the economy and society - be it in energy, transport, environment, education, or research and innovation.

The EU's support for democratic and economic reforms helps to strengthen stability and prosperity. Our support goes not only to the reform efforts of the Government; it is also designed to enhance the role of civil society which has an important role in this transformation, because for this process to succeed it needs to be inclusive. Of course, the EU stands ready to support this process throughout.

President Margvelashvili at the ceremony of signing AA; DCFTA; "For Georgia, Association with the EU is a choice based on shared values."