The signing of the Association Agreement and DCFTA between Georgia and the European Union in 2014was a strategic political act to deepen the realisation of GeorgiasEuropean choice. Of all the EUs eastern neighbours, Georgia has distinguished itself by pushing ahead in the years since the Rose Revolution of 2003 with the most radical economic liberalisation and reform agenda. It has notably succeeded in reducing corruption and establishing a highly favourable business climate. The Association Agreement and DCFTA thus build on a most promising base.
The purpose of this Handbook is to make the legal content of the Association Agreement clearly comprehensible. It covers all the significant political and economic chapters of the Agreement, and in each case explains the meaning of the commitments made by Georgia and the challenges posed by their implementation.
A unique reference source for this historic act, this Handbook is intended for professional readers, namely officials, parliamentarians, diplomats, business leaders, lawyers, consultants, think tanks, civil society organisations, university teachers, trainers, students and journalists.
The work has been carried out by two teams of researchers from leading independent think tanks, CEPS in Brussels and the Reformatics policy consulting firm in Tbilisi, with the support of the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida). It is one of a trilogy of Handbooks, with the other two volumes examining similar Association Agreements made by the EU with Ukraine and Moldova.

Michael Emerson is Associate Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels.

Tamara Kovziridze is co-founder of Reformatics in Tbilisi.

Preface / Summary /Part I: Political principles, the rule of law and foreign policy 1. Political principles / 2. Rule of law and movement of people / 3. Foreign and security policy /Part II: Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area / 4. Market access for goods / 5. Trade remedies / 6. Customs and trade facilitation / 7. Technical standards for industrial goods / 8. Food safety regulations / 9. Services / 10. Public procurement / 11. Intellectual property rights / 12. Competition policy / 13. Statistics /Part III: Economic cooperation / 14. Macroeconomic context and financial assistance / 15. Financial services / 16. Transport / 17. Energy / 18. Environment / 19. Digital sector / 20. Consumer protection / 21. Company law / 22. Agriculture / 23. Employment and social policy / 24. Education, training and culture / 25. Science and technology / 26. EU agencies and programmes / 27. Cross-border cooperation / 28. Civil society /Part IV: Legal and institutional provisions / 27. Dispute settlement / 28. Institutional provisions