During the working visit to Brussels, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Otar Shamugia, met with the European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhely.

As mentioned, the collaboration between Georgia and the European Union enters a qualitatively new stage by granting a candidate status, implying more ambitious goals and fulfilling significant commitments, for which Georgia shows complete readiness.

Minister briefed the European Commissioner on recent reforms in agriculture and environmental protection fields, achieved progress, and plans for the future. According to Shamugia, environmental protection and rational use of natural resources remain crucial tasks in parallel with economic development in the country.

The Minister noted that crucial steps have been taken to fulfill the obligations. Under the Association Agreement, Georgia has effectively aligned its national legislation with EU legal acts since 2015 and has already approximated its legislation to 133 legal acts out of 200 legal acts of the EU. Moreover, Georgia has made tangible progress in the priority areas outlined in the analytical report of the European Commission published last year and therefore, this progress has been duly assessed by the EU.

“We have already started following the recommendations outlined in the European Commission’s report and created a working group, which developed an action plan outlining specific steps, responsible agencies, and the resources required to implement the recommendations envisaged in the EU’s report. It should be emphasized that the candidate status provides an opportunity to start working on giving Georgia the right to access various funds and supporting instruments of the EU”, - said Shamugia.

‘’During the meeting with Mr. Shamugia, we addressed Georgia’s compliance with EU standards in the green economy and agricultural fields. These are critical areas for Georgia’s path to the EU. Our support will continue”, - added Várhely.