The EU-Georgia Association Agreement as a Process of Harmonization of Georgian Environmental Law

Abstract

“The Association Agreement between, on the one hand, Georgia, and on the other hand, the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their member states” (hereinafter the “Association Agreement”) was initialed[1] on 28–29 November 2013 within the framework of the “Eastern Partnership” Vilnius Summit. The Agreement was signed on 27 June 2014 in Brussels and ratified by the Parliament of Georgia on 18 July of the same year.

By ratifying the Association Agreement, the Georgian authorities assumed various commitments, including the approximation of its national legislation to EU environmental protection and climate change regulatory directives.[2]

The ratification of the Association Agreement created a long-term perspective for the development of national policies in various fields, including environmental protection and climate change. The EU-Georgia Association Agreement established a solid legal basis for future legislative drafting and law enforcement processes.

It is widely recognized that the planet faces serious environmental challenges, which can only be addressed through international cooperation and the creation of an appropriate legislative framework aligned with EU law and reflecting European best practices. Accordingly, since the signing of the Association Agreement in 2014, environmental law in Georgia has been moving closer to European environmental legislation, which, as noted, represents a commitment under the Association Agreement. However, along the path of legislative approximation, beyond legislative progress, significant challenges have emerged, the identification and overcoming of which constitute a prerequisite for successful environmental legislation and national policy.

Within the framework of this article, the transformation of Georgian environmental law following the entry into force of the Association Agreement will be analyzed. The article will identify the challenges present in the process of legislative approximation in the environmental field and present the authors’ recommendations for overcoming these challenges.

[1] Confirmation of the negotiated text by the heads of the parties’ delegations, with initials placed on each page of the Agreement.

[2] The Association Agreement between, on the one hand, Georgia, and on the other hand, the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their member states,” Articles 306, 312.