Georgia initialls Association Agreement with EU

The Association Agreement with the EU that Georgia technically initialed on Thursday was officially signed at the Eastern Partnership Summit plenary meeting in Vilnius today.

The document was signed by  Georgian Foreign Affairs Minister Maia Panjikidze and UN High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton. The part about the Free Trade was signed by Georgian Economy Minister George Kvirikashvili on the one part and European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht on the other part.

The signing ceremony was accompanied by the widely known Georgian song Suliko  and popular Caucasian dance music Shalakho.  

One more document signed today was an agreement establishing a framework for the participation of Georgia in EU crisis management operations.

The document was signed by Georgian Foreign Affairs Minister Maia Panjikidze and UN High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton.

"It's a really emotional day today. I almost cried and my hand started shaking when signing the document, but my signature was still very stable! This made Georgia's European path irreversible," Panjikidze said after the signing ceremony.  

After the official signing ceremony, President Giorgi Margvelashvili gave a speech, stressing the importance of Georgias participation in EU crisis management operations.

At the ceremony, the President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskait?, who invited heads of state and government, cabinet members from 34 countries together with EU leaders to the Vilnius Summit, underlined that the summit proved to be very successful because it opened a new stage in the development of the Eastern Partnership.

"In the course of four years, the Eastern partners have made great progress. Their European choice is based on free will. For them, it is an opportunity to create a better and more secure future built on democratic values. No external pressure or threats can prevent sovereign states from pursuing the path of their choice," the President said.

According to the President of Lithuania, the EU's association agreements including deep and comprehensive free trade areas have been initialed with Moldova and Georgia, they marked an effective step made by these countries towards advancement and European transformation.