MFA: By 2024, Georgia plans to ensure 60-65% fulfillment of the Association Agreement and apply for full membership in the European Union

Seven years after the signing of the Association Agreement, Georgia has made significant progress towards EU integration, with concrete tangible results and approximation to EU standards at the legislative and institutional levels. The information is spread by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to the Ministry, Georgia continues to move closer to European regulations and legislative directives, as a result of which it is recognized as a leading reformer in the Eastern Partnership region.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Association Agreement with the Free Trade Association (DCFTA) gave a new impetus to the development of Georgia-EU trade and economic relations, including in terms of increased exports of national products from Georgia (15%) and the EU becoming Georgia's main trading partner. (24%).

"The agreement also helped to improve the investment climate in Georgia, in particular in the case of investment in the territory of Georgia and the production of products, investors are given the opportunity to export their products to the EU market without tariffs. Energy cooperation with the European Union has entered a new phase and in 2016, Georgia joined the European Energy Union.

EU assistance to Georgia has increased significantly, exceeding EUR 1 billion in total over the last 7 years. Under the agreement, the scale of EU financial assistance is gradually increasing, which amounts to 120-130 million euros annually, only in bilateral format, and in multilateral format, Georgia is additionally involved in various regional assistance programs.

Additional impetus was given to participation in EU framework programs (ERASMUS +, Horizon 2020, Creative Europe) and cooperation with European agencies (FRONTEX, EUROPOL, EUROJUST, etc.).

The successful implementation of the reforms under the Association Agreement has contributed to the successful completion of the visa liberalization process in 2017.

As a result of these achievements, by 2024, Georgia plans to ensure 60-65% implementation of the agreement and apply for full membership in the European Union," - reads the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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