Meeting of the EU-Georgia Association Committee in Trade Configuration

The meeting of the EU-Georgia Association Committee in Trade Configuration, co-chaired by Mr. Genadi Arveladze, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, was held online on February 3-4, 2021.

The meeting was attended by representatives of government agencies involved in the DCFTA implementation and relevant directorates of the European Commission.

From the EU side, the meeting was co-chaired by Ignacio Iruarrizaga Diez, Directorate-General for Trade, Head of Unit E.1: Europe and Eastern Neighbourhood.

During the meeting, the parties discussed trade trends between Georgia and the EU and the impact of COVID-19, as well as the progress achieved by Georgia in DCFTA implementation in the fields of public procurement, competition, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, customs and trade facilitation and trade in services.

The European Commission welcomed the fact that the Union remains one of the most important trade partners for Georgia accounting for almost a quarter of the country’s foreign trade. The EU delegation pointed out that in 2019 the number of Georgian companies exporting to the EU increased which is indicative of the favourable conditions created for SMEs and new economic operators for exporting to the EU.

During the meeting, the Georgian side provided an update on the initiated changes in the public procurement system. The European Commission positively assessed the effort of the Georgian side in drafting the public procurement legislation and finalization of the Phase – I approximation process envisaged by DCFTA. The specific emphasis was put on the establishment of an independent and impartial public procurement review body.

The Georgian side also stated its readiness for the initiation of negotiations with the EU on the Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) mutual recognition agreement.

It should be noted that the EU has expressed particular interest in the electronic pre-declaration platform developed in cooperation with the Customs Department and the Market Surveillance Agency for the smooth administration when importing consumer and industrial products, which is an innovative solution focused on the private sector.

The delegation of the European Commission commended the progress made by Georgia in fulfilling commitments under the DCFTA and expressed its readiness to continue assisting Georgia in this process.