Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

An association agreement with the European Union will be discussed during a closed-door sitting in the Georgian parliament on Monday.

A parliamentary spokesperson told Azerbaijan's Trend news agency that the discussions will take place at the joint meeting of the parliamentary committees for integration into European institutions, for foreign relations and on defense and security.

Representatives of the executive authorities involved in the negotiation process with the EU will make a speech before parliament members.

Invitees include First Deputy Foreign Minister Davit Zalkaliani, Director of the Department of European Integration Tea Akhvlediani, Deputy State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Tamar Beruchashvili, Deputy Minister of Justice Gocha Lordkipanidze and Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Michael Janelidze.

At the end of January, Deputy Minister Zalkaliani said that intensive consultations on the EU-Georgia association agreement will begin in spring.

According to the first deputy chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee Zviad Kvachantiradze, this week the last round of negotiations on the Association Agreement will take place and the MPs would like to be informed on the matter.

EU-Georgia bilateral relations are regulated by the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) which entered into force on July 1, 1999. The agreement is based on common values such as the respect of democratic principles, of the rule of law and human rights, as well as on adopting a market oriented economy. The PCA provides the legal framework for wide-ranging cooperation in the areas of political dialogue, trade, investment, economic, legislative and cultural cooperation.

Furthermore, in June 2012, the EU and Georgia began a visa liberalization dialogue to allow for visa free travel of Georgian citizens to the EU. The talks aimed to have a Visa Liberalization Action Plan in place by the end of the year. The action plan was delivered to Georgia on February 25, 2013.