EU-Georgia Cooperation Council Meeting

2011 has been the year of “further intensification” of EU’s relations with Georgia with talks on deep and comprehensive free trade agreement expected to start before the year’s end, EU officials said after a twelfth meeting of EU – Georgia Cooperation Council in Brussels on December 1.

“Our assessment is that Georgia has made remarkable progress in its modernization and reform efforts. New and more efficient institutions have been built and services to the citizens of Georgia are improving. EU will continue to support these efforts,” said Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, whose country holds EU’s rotating presidency.

Sikorski, along with Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle was representing EU at the cooperation council meeting; Georgia was represented by its Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze.

“Georgia needs to continue this path of modernization and to consolidate its democracy,” the Polish Foreign Minister said. “The upcoming parliamentary elections next year and presidential election following year will be an important test case for Georgian democracy. I can only encourage all the political actors in Georgia to support a tolerant political culture and issue-based debate. Fair competition and genuine participation in elections are fundamental.” 

EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, Štefan Füle, said that EU-Georgia ties were “strengthening.”

“Negotiations on economic integration and deep trade relations will start soon; the visa and readmission cooperation is also proceeding well and gradual steps are taken towards establishing visa free regime in due course,” Füle said.

Asked when the talks on deep and comprehensive free trade agreement (DCFTA) would be announced, Füle said that during the December 1 meeting the EU “reconfirmed commitment which we have already made during the Warsaw summit to start negotiations before the end of the year.”

“We have appreciated progress which has been done by the Georgian partners to meet all the preparative work to start talks on DCFTA,” he said.

Füle said that on December 2 in frames of the EU Trade Policy Committee the member states and the Commission “will make final assessment and judgment concerning the date of launch of these very important negotiations.”

“Do not push us to give you specific dates, because they do not exist, but announcements [about the launch date] will follow in a very, very condensed period of time,” Grigol Vashadze, the Georgian Foreign Minister, said.

Speaking at the same news conference, Polish Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, reiterated EU’s support to Georgia’s territorial integrity and also said that “Georgia and Russia need to find ways to normalize their relations.”

“One important step could be for all parties to the conflicts to agree on non-use of force commitment,” Sikorsky said.

Georgia has already made unilateral non-use of force pledge and is calling on Russia to reciprocate, but Moscow refuses arguing that it is not a party into the conflict and instead calls on Tbilisi to agree on a non-use of force treaties with Tskhinvali and Sokhumi.