2020-06-27

On 27 June 2014, the Association Agreement between Georgia and the European Union was signed. This document, which is of historical significance for Georgia, elevated Georgia-EU relations to a qualitatively new level.

Georgia has made significant progress toward EU integration and over the past six years, the Association Agreement has facilitated the development of the country's priority areas:

Georgia has successfully implemented significant reforms under the Association Agreement, bringing it closer to EU standards on both legislative, as well as institutional levels.

Georgia is recognized as a leading reformer country in the Eastern Partnership region, which has been confirmed by a number of EU assessment reports and statements by high-level representatives of the European Commission.

Significant reforms have been carried out in areas such as the rule of law, human rights, the penitentiary system, education, science and innovation, agriculture, transportation, public service reform, energy, regional development, decentralization, and others.

The Association Agreement has facilitated the mobilization of political support from the European Union, including in terms of support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Association Agreement, which includes free trade with the European Union (DCFTA), gave a new impetus to the development of Georgia-EU trade and economic relations: the export of Georgian national products has increased (12%), and the European Union has become Georgia's main trading partner (24%). Georgia has begun to export new products to the EU market.

Successful reforms implemented under the Association Agreement have facilitated the successful completion of the visa liberalization process in 2017. The visa-free regime with the European Union/Schengen area countries has come into force for citizens of Georgia.

The Association Agreement has facilitated the improvement of Georgia's investment climate.

The signing of the Association Agreement has facilitated the transition to a new phase of cooperation with the European Union in the field of energy.

The Association Agreement plays an important role in the preparation of the political decision for Georgia's full membership in the European Union.

The Association Agreement has facilitated the significant increase of EU assistance to Georgia, which has amounted to a total of up to 1 billion EUR over the past six years.

The signing of the Association Agreement gave a new impetus to participation in EU framework programs (ERASMUS+, Horizon 2020, Creative Europe), and cooperation with European agencies (FRONTEX, EUROPOL, EUROJUST, etc.).

The Association Agreement has facilitated Georgia's cooperation with the European Union in the field of culture, including in terms of the promotion and popularization of Georgian culture in EU member states.