9th EU-Georgia parliamentary association committee sitting
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Friday, February 14
On February 12-13, Strasbourg hosted the 9th PAC sitting, co-chaired by David Songulashvili and Marina Kaljurand with the participation of Georgian Parliament and EP Delegations.
In his speech, David Sungulashvili spoke about the progress achieved in Georgia-EU relations and the role of the Parliament in the implementation of the EUAA. Georgian MP focused on legislative initiatives and amendments upheld in this area.
“The EU-Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee provides a one of a kind opportunity to reflect on our accomplishments and recognize the challenges that remain,” noted the report.
Georgian MPs and MEPs heard the representatives of the Georgian executive authorities and the European Union discuss EU-Georgia relations.
Deputy Foreign Minister Vakhtang Makharoblishvili and Deputy Head of International Relations Department at MIA, Nino Gakharia spoke extensively about the steps taken by the Georgian authorities in response to the visa-free regime and the challenges thereof.
As Vakhtang Makharoblishvili noted, “visa liberalization and EUAA serve as very important accomplishments on the path of Georgia's EU integration. The Georgian Government is on track to address the deriving challenges so that Georgian citizens freely move within the Schengen Zone.”
Guguli Maghradze, Georgian MP, elaborated on the work undertaken within the Gender Equality Council. The PAC attendees tabled and answered the questions including on the current political developments in Georgia.
As Songulashvili said, “due to the great political interest and importance of the subject, I think it is very central to express our readiness to be very open here. We are interested in free and fair judiciary and of course transparency of the Ugulava case. So we are ready to ask the EU parliament for a fact-finding mission to help us and the case to be as transparent as it could be possible just to be on the safe side and not to give the ground to some political speculations – trust me this is in our interest more than ever.”
EU-Georgia parliamentary association committee is a body that provides scrutiny of the implementation of the Georgia-EU Association Agreement.
