EU will enhance bilateral relations with Georgia

The Meeting of General Affairs and External Relations Council of the European Union held on September 15th in Brussels. The Foreign Ministers of EU Member States exchanged their views on how to enhance bilateral relations with Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in frames of EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative.

According to the decision made at EU Foreign Ministers meeting, European Commission will table proposals on terms of talks on Association Agreements with three South Caucasus states in early November.

"The Council unanimously supports the process and looks to the Commission’s proposals. The EU has an important role to play in supporting the region”, said the current President of General Affairs and External relations Council, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Carl Bildt.

Meanwhile, senior officials from EU and the Southern Caucasian countries will meet in late September and then the meetings of Cooperation Councils between these countries and EU will be held in the margins of General Affairs and External Relations Council on October 26-27 to further discuss this issue.

Existing relations between the EU and the three Southern Caucasian countries are based on partnership and cooperation agreements, which entered into force in 1999 for an initial period of ten years and are now automatically extended on a yearly basis. EU’s new vision on developing ties with these three countries was put forth with the creation of Eastern Partnership.

Concluding document of the meeting is attached.