Georgian officials representing various state bodies and agencies on Wednesday launched consultations with the European Union as part of the bloc’s enlargement package, the country’s foreign office said.
The consultations follow the change in Georgia’s status from an associated country to the group of states included in the bloc’s enlargement policy package, following the European Council’s decision last year to grant it a European perspective.
The switch was seen to be opening new prospects for the country’s further institutional and sectoral alignment with the EU, with Deputy Foreign Minister Teimuraz Janjalia heading the delegation this week in the consultations on “greater sectoral and institutional rapprochement” with the bloc.
Meeting members of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations and the body’s sectoral services, the country’s representatives reviewed involvement of the Commission in the country’s further integration into the EU’s single market in trade, industry, agriculture, healthcare, social issues, employment, state procurements, financial services, regional development, environmental protection and competition, the Foreign Ministry said.
The Ministry said the approximation process was based on the reforms carried out by the Georgian Government following the Association Agreement it signed with the EU in 2014, and would be an “important part” of the country’s EU accession process.
The body noted “intensive communications” would continue with the EU as part of the enlargement package, including through visits of the bloc’s representatives to the country.