BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 27
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Associated Agreement with the European Union (EU) created a base for strong and growing relations between Georgia and EU, said the EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell, Trend reports citing Georgian media.
Hartzell congratulated Georgia on the 6th anniversary of signing Associated Agreement (AA) with the EU and the progress achieved.
He said that the EU expected more enthusiasm with respect to legal reforms, and fair and free parliamentary elections planned to be held in autumn.
The EU ambassador expressed hope that EU and Georgia would work together for strengthening of economy and creation of more attractive environment for investors.
“For me, the Association Agreement is like a recipe book that we took home six years ago and have been making food together ever since. Some of the dishes we made together turned out to be really tasty, such as visa liberalization or Erasmus + student exchange programs, which are enjoyed by many people. Other dishes are more like vegetables, you don’t expect much to taste it. However, you end up with realizing that they are essential for health. I expect to cook together next year as well,” EU ambassador said.
Meanwhile, Georgia began negotiating with the EU on its AA deal in July 2010 and the final agreement was initialed at the Vilnius Summit in November 2013.
Although the essential elements of the AA partially came into force from September 1, 2014, the agreement fully came into force on July 1, 2016, after the national parliaments of all EU member countries ratified the agreement.
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