AA agenda: Georgia facing three years of changes

The European Union (EU) has released a simplified version of Georgia’s Association Agreement (AA), which clearly states what it expects Georgia to accomplish in the next three years as it moves towards becoming a member of the EU.

Improving the judicial system, eradicating corruption, protecting human rights of all including children and minorities, fostering tourism and working to reduce the effects of climate change were some of the things Georgia must develop in the next three years, outlined today in the Association Agenda.

The 25-page document released earlier today by Georgian Foreign Ministry was much shorter than the full AA document (which boasted more than 1,000 pages) that the EU released in February.

The document outlined the agenda from 2014 to 2016 and comprehensively overviewed a range of improvements in all fields. As the document highlighted, some of the priorities of the AA were:

• Strengthen political dialogue and continue reforms to enhance democracy, the rule of law and good governance, and eradicate corruption;
• Continue reforms in the justice sector to strengthen the independence, efficiency, impartiality and professionalism of the courts;
• Ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, including gender equality, children’s rights and the rights of minorities;
• Update current laws to combat ill-treatment and torture;
• Implement the new Labour Code to align with international standards;
• Enforce Protection of personal data; and
• Continue efforts in peaceful conflict resolution.

The document also noted Georgia needed to combat illegal migration, fight organised crime, implement a more comprehensive border management strategy and combat illegal trafficking of drugs.

A section was dedicated to the improvements needed in the export and trade sphere, such as improving food safety standards, encouraging competition, protecting intellectual property rights and more.

See the full document below.