EU and Georgia Celebrate 9th Anniversary of EU-Georgia Association Agreement
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
The EU and Georgia are celebrating the 9th anniversary of the signing of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement. The EU representation's press release emphasized that this milestone further strengthens the partnership and bond between the European Union and Georgia. They also highlighted the importance of the reforms based on this agreement as significant steps towards Georgia's full membership in the European family.
"Today we celebrate the 9th anniversary of the signing of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement, a milestone that strengthens the bond between us as partners. The reforms based on this agreement are important steps towards Georgia becoming a full member of the European family. Congratulations to Georgia on this special day!" EU in Georgia wrote.
In his Facebook post, Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili acknowledged the noteworthy milestone of Georgia attaining associate membership in the European Union exactly 9 years ago. He described this momentous occasion as both an impressive achievement in its own right and a significant stepping stone towards Georgia's ultimate integration into the European Union.
"Exactly 9 years ago, Georgia became an associate member of the European Union. This historic event, in itself, marked the beginning of other achievements-a consistent move towards the final integration of Georgia into the European Union. The free trade agreement gave our entrepreneurs the opportunity to export their products to the European Union without any barriers. The ever-increasing dynamics of trade have tangible consequences for the well-being of our people.
The possibility of free movement in the European Union with a Georgian passport, which was brought about by the agreement on the visa-free regime, is also particularly important for our citizens. On March 3 of last year, I signed Georgia's application for EU membership. The continuation of this process was the granting of a European perspective to Georgia by the European Union; For the first time in our history, Europe has publicly and unequivocally declared that Georgia will become a member state of the European Union.
Before this, after a long period of stagnation, this achievement achieved in less than 10 years is the result of the joint efforts of our government and a large part of society. I believe that this process will continue at the end of the year with the well-deserved recognition of these efforts and the granting of the candidate status, which will become the beginning of the decisive stage of Georgia's accession to the European Union," noted the Prime Minister.
