Georgia’s PM attends EU-Georgia Council meeting in Brussels

Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili is attending the first meeting of the European Union (EU)-Georgia Association Council in Brussels, Belgium today.

Also today, Garibashvili is scheduled to meet senior EU officials and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who took up the top NATO role in October.

Today’s gathering will be the first meeting of the EU-Georgia Association Council since the EU-Georgia Association Agreement (AA) was signed in June this year. The EU-Georgia Association Council has replaced the Cooperation Council.

The meeting will be chaired by the EU’s new foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who with the Georgian PM, will host a press conference after their meeting. Meanwhile at the meeting, effective implementation of reforms set in the Association Agenda will be discussed, the PM’s press office said.

Meanwhile also today the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament will vote on whether to give the go-ahead to the ratification of the EU-Georgia AA.

During the PM’s visit to Brussels Garibashvili will also meet president of the European Parliament Martin Schulz. While abroad he also planned to meet Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn, Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs Elmar Brok.

Prime Minister Garibashvili is joined by a Georgian delegation, which included the country’s new Foreign Minister Tamar Beruchashvili, new Defence Minister Mindia Janelidze and newly appointed State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Davit Bakradze.

Bakradze, who was Georgia’s Ambassador to Greece, took up his new post on November 15.

Other members of the delegation are Georgia’s Economy Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Justice Minister Thea Tsulukiani and State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality Paata Zakareishvili.