The Parties agree to cooperate in order to ensure a high level of protection of personal data in accordance with the EU, Council of Europe and international legal instruments and standards referred to in Annex I to this Agreement.
Article 15. Cooperation on Migration, Asylum and Border Management
1. The Parties reaffirm the importance of a joint management of migration flows between their territories and shall establish a comprehensive dialogue on all migration-related issues, including legal migration, international protection and the fight against illegal migration, smuggling and trafficking in human beings.
2. Cooperation will be based on specific needs assessments conducted in mutual consultation between the Parties and be implemented in accordance with their relevant legislation in force. It will, in particular, focus on:
(a) the root causes and the consequences of migration;
(b) the development and implementation of national legislation and practices as regards international protection, with a view to satisfying the provisions of the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951 and of the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees of 1967 and of other relevant international instruments, such as the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950, and to ensuring the respect of the principle of ‘non-refoulement’;
(c) the admission rules and rights and status of persons admitted, fair treatment and integration of lawfully residing nonnationals education and training and measures against racism and xenophobia;
(d) the enhancement of an effective and preventive policy against illegal migration, smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human beings including the issue of how to combat networks of smugglers and traffickers and how to protect the victims of such trafficking;
(e) the implementation of the Working Arrangement on the establishment of operational cooperation between the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (FRONTEX) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Georgia, signed on 4 December 2008;
(f) in the areas of document security and border management, issues such as organisation, training, best practices and other operational measures.
3. Cooperation may also facilitate circular migration for the benefit of development.
Article 16. Movement of Persons and Readmission
1. The Parties will ensure the full implementation of:
(a) the Agreement between the European Union and Georgia on the readmission of persons residing without authorisation, which entered into force on 1 March 2011; and
(b) the Agreement between the European Union and Georgia on the facilitation of the issuance of visas, which entered into force on 1 March 2011.
2. The Parties shall continue to endeavour to enhance mobility of citizens and shall take gradual steps towards the shared objective of a visa-free regime in due course, provided that the conditions for well-managed and secure mobility set out in the two-phase Action Plan on Visa Liberalisation are in place.
Article 17. The Fight Against Organised Crime and Corruption
1. The Parties shall cooperate on combating and preventing criminal and illegal activities, in particular transnational activities, organised or otherwise, such as:
(a) smuggling and trafficking in human beings as well as small arms and illicit drugs;
(b) smuggling and trafficking in goods;
(c) illegal economic and financial activities such as counterfeiting, fiscal fraud and public procurement fraud;
(d) embezzlement in projects funded by international donors;
(e) active and passive corruption, both in the private and public sector;
(f) forging documents, submitting false statements; and
(g) cybercrime.
2. The Parties shall enhance bilateral, regional and international cooperation among law enforcement bodies including developing cooperation between Europol and the relevant authorities of Georgia. The Parties are committed to implementing effectively the relevant international standards, and in particular those enshrined in the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC) of 2000 and the three Protocols thereto and in the United Nations Convention against Corruption of 2003.
Article 18. Illicit Drugs
1. Within their respective powers and competencies, the Parties shall cooperate to ensure a balanced and integrated approach towards drug issues. Drug policies and actions shall be aimed at reinforcing structures for preventing and combating illicit drugs, reducing the supply of, trafficking in and the demand for illicit drugs, addressing the health and social consequences of drug abuse with a view to reducing harm as well as at a more effective prevention of diversion of chemical precursors used for the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
2. The Parties shall agree on the necessary methods of cooperation to attain these objectives. Actions shall be based on commonly agreed principles along the lines of the relevant international conventions, and the EU Drug Strategy (2013-20), the Political Declaration on the guiding principles of drug demand reduction, approved by the Twentieth United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs in June 1998.
Article 19. Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing
1. The Parties shall cooperate in order to prevent the use of their financial and relevant non-financial systems to launder the proceeds of criminal activities in general and drug offences in particular, as well as for the purpose of terrorism financing.
This cooperation extends to the recovery of assets or funds derived from the proceeds of crime.
2. Cooperation in this area shall allow exchanges of relevant information within the framework of respective legislation and the adoption of appropriate standards to prevent and combat money laundering and financing of terrorism equivalent to those adopted by relevant international bodies active in this area, such as the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF).
Article 20. Cooperation In the Fight Against Terrorism
1. In full accordance with the principles underlying the fight against terrorism as set out in Article 12 of this Agreement, the Parties reaffirm the importance of a law enforcement and judicial approach to the fight against terrorism and agree to cooperate in the prevention and suppression of terrorism in particular by:
(a) ensuring the criminalisation of terrorist offences, in line with the definition contained in the Council Framework Decision 2008/919/JHA of 28 November 2008 amending Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA on combatting terrorism;
(b) exchanging information on terrorist groups and individuals and their support networks, in accordance with international and national law, in particular as regards data protection and the protection of privacy;
(c) exchanging experience in the prevention and suppression of terrorism, means and methods and their technical aspects, as well as on training, in accordance with applicable law;
(d) sharing information on best practices in addressing and countering radicalisation and recruitment, and on promoting rehabilitation;
(e) exchanging views and experience concerning cross-border movement and travel of terrorist suspects as well as concerning terrorist threats;
(f) sharing best practices as regards the protection of human rights in the fight against terrorism, in particular in relation to criminal justice proceedings;
(g) taking measures against the threat of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terrorism and undertaking the measures necessary to prevent the acquisition, transfer and use for terrorist purposes of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials as well as to prevent illegal acts against high risk chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear facilities.
2. Cooperation shall be based on relevant available assessments, such as those of the relevant bodies of the UN and the Council of Europe and conducted in mutual consultation between the Parties.
Article 21. Legal Cooperation
1. The Parties agree to develop judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters as regards the negotiation, ratification and implementation of multilateral conventions on civil judicial cooperation and, in particular, the conventions of the Hague Conference on Private International Law in the field of international legal cooperation and litigation as well as the protection of children.
2. As regards judicial cooperation in criminal matters, the Parties will seek to enhance cooperation on mutual legal assistance on the basis of relevant multilateral agreements. This would include, where appropriate, accession to, and implementation of, the relevant international instruments of the UN and the Council of Europe and closer cooperation with Eurojust.
Title IV. TRADE AND TRADE-RELATED MATTERS
Chapter 1. National Treatment and Market Access for Goods
Section 1. Common Provisions
Article 22. Objective
The Parties shall establish a free trade area starting from the entry into force of this Agreement, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and in conformity with Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994).
Article 23. Scope and Coverage
1. The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to trade in goods (1) between the Parties.
2. For the purposes of this Chapter, ‘originating’ means qualifying under the rules of origin set out in Protocol I to this Agreement.
Section 2. Elimination of Customs Duties, Fees and other Charges
Article 24. Definition of Customs Duties
For the purposes of this Chapter, a ‘customs duty’ includes any duty or charge of any kind imposed on, or in connection with, the import or export of a good, including any form of surtax or surcharge imposed on or in connection with such import or export. A ‘customs duty’ does not include any:
(a) charge equivalent to an internal tax imposed consistently with Article 31 of this Agreement;
(b) duties imposed consistently with Chapter 2 (Trade Remedies) of Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement;
(c) fees or other charges imposed consistently with Article 30 of this Agreement.
Article 25. Classification of Goods
The classification of goods in trade between the Parties shall be that set out in each Party's respective tariff nomenclature in conformity with the 2012 Harmonised System based on the International Convention on the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System of 1983 (HS) and subsequent amendments thereto.
Article 26. Elimination of Customs Duties on Imports
1. The Parties shall eliminate all customs duties on goods originating in the other Party as from the date of entry into force of this Agreement except as provided in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article and without prejudice to paragraph 4 of this Article.
2. The products listed in Annex II-A to this Agreement shall be imported into the Union free of customs duties within the limits of the tariff rate quotas set out in that Annex. The most-favoured-nation (MFN) customs duty rate shall apply to imports exceeding the tariff rate quota limit.
3. The products listed in Annex II-B to this Agreement shall be subject to an import duty when imported into the Union with exemption of the ad valorem component of that import duty.
4. The import of products originating in Georgia listed in Annex II-C to this Agreement shall be subject to the anticircumvention mechanism set out in Article 27 of this Agreement.
5. After five years from the entry into force of this Agreement, at the request of either Party, the Parties shall consult to consider broadening the scope of the liberalisation of customs duties in the trade between the Parties. A decision under this paragraph shall be made by the Association Committee in Trade configuration, as set out in Article 408(4) of this Agreement.
Article 27. Anti-circumvention Mechanism for Agricultural Products and Processed Agricultural Products
1. The products listed in Annex II-C to this Agreement are subject to the anti-circumvention mechanism set out in this Article. The average annual volume of imports from Georgia into the Union for each category of those products is provided in Annex II-C to this Agreement.
2. When the volume of imports of one or more categories of products referred to in paragraph 1 reaches 70 % of the volume indicated in Annex II-C to this Agreement in any given year starting on 1 January, the Union shall notify Georgia about the volume of imports of the products(s) concerned. Following this notification and within 14 calendar days from the date on which the volume of imports of one or more categories of products referred to in paragraph 1 reaches 80 % of the volume indicated in Annex II-C to this Agreement, Georgia shall provide the Union with a sound justification that Georgia has the capacity to produce the products for export into the Union in excess of the volumes set out in that Annex. If those imports reach 100 % of the volume indicated in Annex II-C to this Agreement, and in the absence of a sound justification by Georgia, the Union may temporarily suspend the preferential treatment for the products concerned.
The suspension shall be applicable for a period of six months and shall take effect on the date of publication of the decision to suspend preferential treatment in the Official Journal of the European Union.
3. All temporary suspensions adopted pursuant to paragraph 2 shall be notified by the Union to Georgia without undue delay.
4. A temporary suspension shall be lifted before the expiry of six months from its entry into force by the Union if Georgia provides robust and satisfactory evidence within the Association Committee in Trade configuration, as set out in Article 408(4) of this Agreement, that the volume of the relevant category of products imported in excess of the volume referred to in Annex II-C to this Agreement results from a change in the level of production and export capacity of Georgia for the product(s) concerned.
5. Annex II-C to this Agreement may be amended and the volume modified by mutual consent of the Union and Georgia in the Association Committee in Trade configuration at the request of Georgia, in order to reflect changes in the level of production and export capacity of Georgia for the product(s) concerned.
Article 28. Standstill
Neither Party may adopt any new customs duty, on a good originating in the other Party or may increase any customs duty applied on the date of entry into force of this Agreement. This shall not preclude that either Party may maintain or increase a customs duty as authorised by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the WTO.
Article 29. Customs Duties on Exports
Neither Party shall adopt or maintain any customs duty or tax, other than internal charges applied in conformity with Article 30 of this Agreement, on, or in connection with, the export of goods to the territory of the other Party.
Article 30. Fees and other Charges
Each Party shall ensure, in accordance with Article VIII of GATT 1994 and the interpretative notes thereon, that all fees and charges of whatever character other than customs duties or other measures referred to in Article 26 of this Agreement, imposed on, or in connection with, the import or export of goods are limited in amount to the approximate cost of services rendered and do not represent an indirect protection to domestic goods or a taxation of imports or exports for fiscal purposes.
Section 3. Non-tariff Measures
Article 31. National Treatment
Each Party shall accord national treatment to the goods of the other Party in accordance with Article III of GATT 1994, including the interpretative notes thereon. To that end, Article III of GATT 1994 and the interpretative notes thereon are incorporated into this Agreement and made an integral part thereof.
Article 32. Import and Export Restrictions
Neither Party shall adopt or maintain any prohibition or restriction on the import of any good of the other Party or on the export or sale for export of any good destined for the territory of the other Party, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement or in accordance with Article XI of GATT 1994 and the interpretative notes thereon. To that end, Article XI of GATT 1994 and the interpretative notes thereon are incorporated into this Agreement and made an integral part thereof.
Section 4. Specific Provisions Related to Goods
Article 33. General Exceptions
Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to prevent the adoption or enforcement by any Party of measures in accordance with Articles XX and XXI of GATT 1994 and any relevant interpretative notes to those Articles under GATT 1994, which are hereby incorporated into this Agreement and made an integral part thereof.
Section 5. Administrative Cooperation and Coordination with other Countries
Article 34. Temporary Withdrawal of Preferences
1. The Parties agree that administrative cooperation and assistance is essential for the implementation and the control of preferential tariff treatment granted under this Chapter and underline their commitment to combat irregularities and fraud in customs and related matters.
2. Where a Party has made a finding, on the basis of objective information, of a failure of the other Party to provide administrative cooperation or assistance and/or of irregularities or fraud under this Chapter, the Party concerned may temporarily suspend the relevant preferential treatment of the product(s) concerned in accordance with this Article.
3. For the purposes of this Article, a failure to provide administrative cooperation or assistance shall mean, inter alia:
(a) a repeated failure to respect the obligations to verify the originating status of the good(s) concerned;
(b) a repeated refusal or undue delay in carrying out and/or communicating the results of subsequent verification of the proof of origin;
(c) a repeated refusal or undue delay in obtaining authorisation to conduct enquiry visits to determine the authenticity of documents or accuracy of information relevant to the granting of the preferential treatment in question.
4. For the purposes of this Article, a finding of irregularities or fraud may be made, inter alia, where there is a rapid increase, without satisfactory explanation, in the volume of imports of goods exceeding the usual level of production and export capacity of the other Party that is linked to objective information concerning irregularities or fraud.
5. The application of a temporary suspension shall be subject to the following conditions:
(a) the Party which has made a finding, on the basis of objective information, of a failure to provide administrative cooperation or assistance and/or of irregularities or fraud from the other Party, shall without undue delay notify the Association Committee in Trade configuration, as set out in Article 408(4) of this Agreement, of its finding together with the objective information and enter into consultations within that Committee, on the basis of all relevant information and objective findings, with a view to reaching a solution acceptable to both Parties;
(b) where the Parties have entered into consultations within the Association Committee in Trade configuration and have failed to agree on an acceptable solution within three months following the notification, the Party concerned may temporarily suspend the relevant preferential treatment of the good(s) concerned. A temporary suspension shall be notified to the Association Committee in Trade configuration without undue delay;
(c) temporary suspensions under this Article shall be limited to that necessary to protect the financial interests of the Party concerned. They shall not exceed a period of six months, which may be renewed, if at the date of expiry nothing has changed with respect to the condition that gave rise to the initial suspension. They shall be subject to periodic consultations within the Association Committee in Trade configuration, in particular with a view to their termination as soon as the conditions for their application no longer apply.
6. Each Party shall publish in accordance with its internal procedures, notices to importers concerning any: notification referred to in paragraph 5(a); decision referred to in paragraph 5(b); and extension or termination referred to in paragraph 5(c).
Article 35. Management of Administrative Errors
In case of an error by the competent authorities in the proper management of the preferential system at export, and in particular in the application of the provisions of Protocol I to this Agreement concerning the definition of originating products and methods of administrative cooperation, where this error leads to consequences in terms of import duties, the Party facing such consequences may request the Association Committee in Trade configuration, as set out in Article 408(4) of this Agreement, to examine the possibilities of adopting all appropriate measures with a view to resolving the situation.
Article 36. Agreements with other Countries
1. This Agreement shall not preclude the maintenance or establishment of customs unions, free trade areas or arrangements for frontier traffic except in so far as they conflict with trade arrangements provided for in this Agreement.
2. Consultations between the Parties shall take place within the Association Committee in Trade configuration, as set out in Article 408(4) of this Agreement, at the request of either Party, concerning agreements establishing customs unions, free trade areas or arrangements for frontier traffic and on other major issues related to their respective trade policy with third countries. In particular in the event of a third country acceding to the EU, such consultations shall take place so as to ensure that account be taken of the mutual interests of the Union and Georgia as stated in this Agreement.
Chapter 2. Trade Remedies
Section 1. Global Safeguard Measures
Article 37. General Provisions
1. The Parties confirm their rights and obligations under Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the Agreement on Safeguards contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement (‘Agreement on Safeguards’) and Article 5 of the Agreement on Agriculture, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement (‘Agreement on Agriculture’).
2. The preferential rules of origin established under Chapter 1 (National Treatment and Market Access for Goods) of Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement shall not apply to this Section.
3. The provisions of this Section shall not be subject to Chapter 14 (Dispute Settlement) of Title IV (Trade and Traderelated Matters) of this Agreement.
Article 38. Transparency
1. The Party initiating a safeguard investigation shall notify the other Party of such initiation provided the latter has a substantial economic interest.
2. Notwithstanding Article 37 of this Agreement, at the request of the other Party, the Party initiating a safeguard investigation and intending to apply safeguard measures shall provide immediately ad hoc written notification of all the pertinent information leading to the initiation of a safeguard investigation and the imposition of safeguard measures, including, where relevant, information on the initiation of a safeguard investigation, on the provisional findings and on the final findings of the investigation, as well as offer the possibility for consultations to the other Party.
3. For the purposes of this Article, a Party shall be considered as having a substantial economic interest when it is among the five largest suppliers of the imported product during the most recent three-year period of time, measured in terms of either absolute volume or value.
Article 39. Application of Measures
1. When imposing safeguard measures, the Parties shall endeavour to impose them in a way that affects their bilateral trade the least.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article, if a Party considers that the legal requirements for the imposition of definitive safeguard measures are met and intends to apply such measures, that Party shall notify the other Party and give the latter the possibility to hold bilateral consultations. If no satisfactory solution has been reached within 30 days of the notification, the importing Party may adopt the appropriate measures to remedy the problem.
Section 2. Anti-dumping and Countervailing Measures
Article 40. General Provisions
1. The Parties confirm their rights and obligations under Article VI of GATT 1994, the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of GATT 1994, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement (‘Anti-Dumping Agreement’) and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement (‘SCM Agreement’).
2. The preferential rules of origin established under Chapter 1 (National Treatment and Market Access for Goods) of Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement shall not apply to this Section.
3. The provisions of this Section shall not be subject to Chapter 14 (Dispute Settlement) of Title IV (Trade and Traderelated Matters) of this Agreement.
Article 41. Transparency
1. The Parties agree that anti-dumping and countervailing measures should be used in full compliance with the requirements of the Anti-Dumping Agreement and the SCM Agreement, respectively, and should be based on a fair and transparent system.
2. The Parties shall ensure, immediately after the imposition of provisional measures and before the final determination is made, full and meaningful disclosure of all essential facts and considerations which form the basis for the decision to apply measures, without prejudice to Article 6.5 of the Anti-Dumping Agreement and Article 12.4 of the SCM Agreement. Disclosures shall be made in writing and allow interested parties sufficient time to make their comments.
3. Provided it does not unnecessarily delay the conduct of the investigation, each interested Party shall be granted the possibility to be heard in order to express their views during anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations.
Article 42. Consideration of Public Interest
Anti-dumping or countervailing measures may not be applied by a Party where, on the basis of the information made available during the investigation, it can clearly be concluded that it is not in the public interest to apply such measures.
The public interest determination shall be based on an appreciation of all the various interests taken as a whole, including the interests of the domestic industry, users, consumers and importers to the extent that they have provided relevant information to the investigating authorities.
Article 43. Lesser Duty Rule
Should a Party decide to impose a provisional or a definitive anti-dumping or a countervailing duty, the amount of such duty shall not exceed the margin of dumping or the total amount of countervailable subsidies, but it should be less than the margin of dumping or the total amount of countervailable subsidies if such a lesser duty would be adequate to remove the injury to the domestic industry.
Chapter 3. Technical Barriers to Trade, Standardisation, Metrology, Accreditation and Conformity Assessment
Article 44. Scope and Definitions
1. This Chapter applies to the preparation, adoption and application of standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures as defined in the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement (‘TBT Agreement’) that may affect trade in goods between the Parties.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, this Chapter does not apply to sanitary and phytosanitary measures as defined in Annex A to the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement (‘SPS Agreement’), nor to purchasing specifications prepared by public authorities for their own production or consumption requirements.
3. For the purposes of this Chapter, the definitions of Annex I to the TBT Agreement shall apply.
Article 45. Affirmation of the TBT Agreement
The Parties affirm their existing rights and obligations with respect to each other under the TBT Agreement which is hereby incorporated into this Agreement and made an integral part thereof.
Article 46. Technical Cooperation
1. The Parties shall strengthen their cooperation in the field of standards, technical regulations, metrology, market surveillance, accreditation and conformity assessment systems with a view to increasing the mutual understanding of their respective systems and facilitating access to their respective markets. To that end, they may establish regulatory dialogues at both horizontal and sectoral levels.
2. In their cooperation, the Parties shall seek to identify, develop and promote trade facilitating initiatives which may include, but are not limited to:
(a) reinforcing regulatory cooperation through the exchange of data and experience, and through scientific and technical cooperation, with a view to improving the quality of their technical regulations, standards, market surveillance, conformity assessment and accreditation, and making efficient use of regulatory resources;
(b) promoting and encouraging cooperation between their respective organisations, public or private, responsible for metrology, standardisation, market surveillance, conformity assessment and accreditation;
(c) fostering the development of the quality infrastructure for standardisation, metrology, accreditation, conformity assessment and the market surveillance system in Georgia;
(d) promoting the participation of Georgia in the work of related European organisations;