Georgia EU Cooperation Nino Grdzelishvili Deputy Head of European Integration Coordination Department ngrdzelishvili@eu-nato.gov.ge 29 June 2015 Fulda 1
Table of Contents Historical Overview EU-Georgia Association Agreement (AA) Eastern Partnership (EaP) Coordination of EU Integration Cooperation with Civil Society State of Play 2
EU-Georgia Cooperation 1992 Recognition of Georgia's independence by the European Union 22 April 1996 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between Georgia and the European Union was signed 14 June 2004 The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) for Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia was launched 3 December 2008 The European Commission adopted a Communication on the Eastern Partnership. The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is an EU policy aimed at bringing Eastern Neighbours closer to the European Union 10 May 2010 Negotiations on the Association Agreement between EU and Georgia was launched 3
EU-Georgia Association Agreement (AA) 29 November 2013 26 June 2014 27 June 2014 The European Union and Georgia initialed the Association Agreement (AA), including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) component at the Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit The Association Agenda between the EU and Georgia was adopted, which establishes a set of jointly agreed priorities for the period 2014-2016 with a view to preparing for the implementation of the Association Agreement, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) The Association Agreement was signed between the European Union and Georgia aiming to deepen Georgia s political association and economic integration with the EU 18 July 2014 The Parliament of Georgia ratified the EU-Georgia Association Agreement, including the DCFTA component 1 September 2014 Provisional application of the Association Agreement started whereby 80% of the Association Agreement came into force, including the DCFTA component 4
Ratification of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement The European Parliament Malta Cyprus Denmark Slovakia Slovenia Croatia Sweden Bulgaria Estonia Ireland Luxembourg Romania Germany Lithuania Finland Latvia United Kingdom Hungary Portugal Poland Czech Republic 5
EU-Georgia Association Agreement (AA) Structure The EU-Georgia Association Agreement counts about 1000 pages and is comprised of: 8 Titles which concern General Principles; Political Dialogue and Reform, Cooperation in the Field of Foreign and Security Policy; Justice, Freedom and Security; Economic Cooperation; Other Cooperation Policies; Trade and Trade-related Matters (DCFTA); Financial Assistance and Anti-Fraud and Control Provision as well as Institutional, General and Final Provisions; 34 Annexes laying down the relevant EU legislation to be taken over by a specific date; 3 Protocols. 6
Eastern Partnership 2008: The European Commission adopted a Communication on the Eastern Partnership. The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is an EU policy aimed at bringing Eastern Neighbours closer to the European Union Bilateral Cooperation Establishing new and broader contractual relations by replacing the Partnership and Cooperation Agreements (PCAs) with Association Agreements Multilateral Cooperation Platform I - Democracy, good governance and stability Platform II - Economic integration and convergence with EU policies Creating Free Trade Areas between the EU and the partner countries on the basis of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Agreements Platform III - Energy Security Platform IV - Contacts between people Promoting citizen mobility 7
EU Integration Coordination The Office of the State Minister of Georgia on the European and Euro-Atlantic Integration is assigned to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the EU- Georgia Association Agreement - Decree #186 of the Government of Georgia 07.02.2014 The Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia coordinates and monitors the implementation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area component; The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia conducts political dialogue with the EU, including the EU-Georgia cooperation institutions and priority issues in the framework of the political consultations. The MFA also coordinates the implementation of Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (VLAP); The relevant ministries are responsible for the fulfillment of the tasks that fall under their competence; The Governmental Commission on Georgia s EU Integration, chaired by the Prime Minister conducts vertical coordination of implementation of the Association Agreement. 8
V E R T I C A L Governmental Commission of Georgia s European Integration EU Integration Coordination Prime Minister Cabinet of Ministers Parliament of Georgia C O O R D I N A T I O N Office of the State Minister on European and Euro- Atlantic Integration Commission Secretariat Thematic Working Groups HORIZONTAL COORDINATION Analytical Unit under the Parliamentary Secretary of the Goverment Committee on Foreign Relations Committee on European Integration Civil Society Office of the State Minister on European and Euro- Atlantic Integration AA Horizontal Coordination and Monitoring Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development DCFTA Coordination and Monitoring Ministry of Foreign Affairs External relations on the EU integration issues All Ministries Approximation and harmonization of national legislation with the EU acquis Ministries and Agencies LEPL Legislative Herald under the Ministry of Justice (translation) 9
Strengthening Capacity on EU Integration To guarantee sufficient coordination and monitoring of implementation of the Association Agreement the administrative capacities of the Office of the State Minister have been strengthened by increasing the number of employees at the Office; Line ministries that lacked respective structural units dealing with the EU integration issues, are in the process of their creation. Others were assigned to further strengthen capacities of the existing structural units; With a view to strengthen administrative capacities of relevant ministries and government agencies, number of trainings for civil servants took place and are still ongoing. Analytical Unit has been established at the administration of the Government of Georgia under the supervision of the Parliamentary Secretary of the GoG. The unit serves further enhancement of the coordination and monitoring mechanisms and conducts compliance checking of the legislative initiatives. 10
Civil Society Cooperation with the Georgian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum; Civil Society Platform of the Association Agreement to be actively engaged in planning and monitoring of implementation process; Public Advisory Council of the State Minister on Georgia s EU Integration; DCFTA Civil Society Forum. 11
State of Play Where do we stand? Georgia s European and Euro-Atlantic integration course is irreversible. Association Agreement/DCFTA is the Master Plan for Europeanisation of Georgia. AA/DCFTA is not the final goal in EU-Georgia cooperation. The visa liberalization is a critical step in advancing EU-Georgia relations. The issue offers an opportunity to demonstrate to citizens that the commitment to reforms delivers tangible results. 12
Thank you! 13
Mein Werdegang: ICEUS Staatsministerium für Europäische und Euro-Atlantische Integration Nino Grdzelishvili Deputy Head of European Integration Coordination Department, Office of the State Minister of Georgia on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration 14 July 1 st 2015 Fulda
ICEUS 13 (2011-2013) 15
Was habe ich aus Deutschland mit nach Georgien genommen? O M.A. in European Studies & Intercultural Communication O Praktikum beim EPIO Informationsbüro in Berlin O Praktikum &Arbeit bei der Botschaft von Georgien in Berlin O Traineeship (Robert-Schuman-Stipendium) im Europäischen Parlament 16
Realität in Georgien O Kein guter Zeitpunkt O Ca. 70 Bewerbungen abgeschickt 17
DIE Stellenausschreibung O Reform des öffentlichen Dienstes neue Abteilung in der Administration der Regierung O Kriterien: - M.A. Abschluss (Internationale Beziehungen) - 2 Jahre Arbeitserfahrung - Sprachen - Kentnisse der normativen Rechtsakten 18
Advisor of the Foreign Relations Unit: Meine Aufgaben O Inhatliche Vorbereitung der Staatsbesuche in enger Zusammenarbeit mit dem Ministerium für Aussenbeziehungen: - Talking Points - Kernaussagen für Pressekonferenzen - Dossiers für bilaterale Treffen O Briefe 19
Spannender Job & tolle Kollegen, aber.. O Ungeregelte Arbeitszeiten O Stressige Arbeitssituation O Kein konkretes Arbeitsthema Änderung nötig 20
Neue Arbeitsstelle: Office of the State Minister of Georgia on European And Euro-Atlantic Integration 21
Meine Aufgaben O Jährliches Aktionsplan zur Umsetzung des Assoziierungsabkommens zwischen EU und Georgien (Erstellung & Kontrolle) O Vorbereitung der Besuche des Staatsministers O Teilnahme an den Sitzungen der EU-Georgien Assoziierungsunterausschüsse O Koordinierung der Beziehungen im Rahmen der multilateralen Kooperation der Östlichen Partnerschaft O Besuchergruppen 22
Aktuelle Projekte O Konferenz Georgia s European Way O Online Portal zur Koordination der Umsetzung des Assoziierungsabkommens zwischen EU und Georgien http://eunato.gov.ge/sites/default/files/aa%20national%2 0Action%20Plan%202015%20%20Final%20GEO_0.pdf O Policy Papers 23
Aus der Erfahrung lernen DOs O Die Studienzeit richtig gestalten O Neben dem Studium/nach dem Studium praktische Erfahrung sammeln O ICEUS geniessen DONTs O Nicht verzweifeln O Keine künstliche Grenzen im Kopf 24
Gerne beantworte ich Ihre Fragen! ngrdzelishvili@eu-nato.gov.ge 25