(e) seeking solutions to technical barriers to trade that may arise; and
(f) where appropriate, undertaking efforts to coordinate their positions on matters of mutual interest in international trade and regulatory organisations such as the WTO and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
Article 47. Approximation of Technical Regulations, Standards, and Conformity Assessment
1. Having regard to its priorities for approximation in different sectors, Georgia shall take the measures necessary in order to gradually achieve approximation with the Union's technical regulations, standards, metrology, accreditation, conformity assessment, corresponding systems and market surveillance system, and undertakes to follow the principles and the practice laid down in the relevant Union acquis (indicative list in Annex III-B to this Agreement). A list of the measures for approximation is set out in Annex III-A to this Agreement, which may be amended by a decision of the Association Committee in Trade configuration, as set out in Article 408(4) of this Agreement.
2. With a view to reaching these objectives, Georgia shall:
(a) having regard to its priorities, progressively approximate its legislation to the relevant Union acquis; and
(b) achieve and maintain the level of administrative and institutional effectiveness necessary to provide an effective and transparent system that is required for the implementation of this Chapter.
3. Georgia shall refrain from amending its horizontal and sectoral legislation in the priority areas for approximation, except for approximating such legislation progressively to the corresponding Union acquis and for maintaining such approximation; and shall notify the Union of such changes in its domestic legislation.
4. Georgia shall ensure and facilitate the participation of its relevant national bodies in the European and international organisations for standardisation, legal and fundamental metrology, and conformity assessment, including accreditation, in accordance with the respective areas of activity of those bodies and the membership status available to them.
5. With a view to integrating its standardisation system, Georgia shall use best endeavours to ensure that its standards body:
(a) progressively transposes the corpus of European standards (EN) as national standards, including the harmonised European standards, the voluntary use of which shall give presumption of conformity with Union legislation transposed into Georgian legislation;
(b) simultaneously with such transposition, withdraws conflicting national standards;
(c) progressively fulfils the other conditions for full membership of the European standards organisations.
Article 48. Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA)
The Parties may ultimately agree to add an Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA) as a Protocol to this Agreement covering one or more sectors agreed upon following verification by the Union that the relevant Georgian horizontal and sectoral legislation, institutions and standards have been fully approximated to those of the Union. Such an ACAA will provide that trade between the Parties in products in the sectors that it covers shall take place under the same conditions as those applying to trade in such products between the Member States.
Article 49. Marking and Labelling
1. Without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 47 and 48 of this Agreement, and with respect to technical regulations relating to labelling or marking requirements, the Parties reaffirm the principles of Chapter 2.2 of the TBT Agreement that such requirements are not prepared, adopted or applied with a view to or with the effect of creating unnecessary obstacles to international trade. For this purpose, such labelling or marking requirements shall not be more trade-restrictive than necessary to fulfil a legitimate objective, taking account of the risks that non-fulfilment would create.
2. Regarding obligatory marking or labelling in particular, the Parties agree that:
(a) they will endeavour to minimise their needs for marking or labelling, except as required for the adoption of the Union acquis in this area and for the protection of health, safety or the environment, or for other reasonable public policy purposes;
(b) a Party may determine the form of labelling or marking but shall not require the approval, the registration or the certification of labels; and
(c) the Parties retain the right to require the information on the label or marking to be in a specified language.
Chapter 4. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
Article 50. Objective
1. The objective of this Chapter is to facilitate trade in commodities covered by sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS measures), including all measures listed in Annex IV to this Agreement, between the Parties, whilst safeguarding human, animal or plant life or health, by:
(a) ensuring full transparency as regards measures applicable to trade, listed in Annex IV to this Agreement;
(b) approximating the Georgian regulatory system to that of the Union;
(c) recognising the animal and plant health status of the Parties and applying the principle of regionalisation;
(d) establishing a mechanism for the recognition of equivalence of measures maintained by a Party, listed in Annex IV to this Agreement;
(e) continuing to implement the SPS Agreement;
(f) establishing mechanisms and procedures for trade facilitation; and
(g) improving communication and cooperation between the Parties on measures listed in Annex IV to this Agreement.
2. This Chapter also aims at reaching a common understanding between the Parties concerning animal welfare standards.
Article 51. Multilateral Obligations
The Parties re-affirm their rights and obligations under the WTO Agreements, and in particular the SPS Agreement.
Article 52. Scope
This Chapter shall apply to all sanitary and phytosanitary measures of a Party that may, directly or indirectly, affect trade between the Parties, including all measures listed in Annex IV to this Agreement. This scope is without prejudice to the scope of approximation as set out in Article 55 of this Agreement.
Article 53. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) ‘sanitary and phytosanitary measures’ means measures as defined in paragraph 1 of Annex A to the SPS Agreement (SPS measures);
(2) ‘animals’ means animals as defined in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code or the Aquatic Animal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), respectively;
(3) ‘animal products’ means products of animal origin, including aquatic animal products as defined in the Aquatic Animal Health Code of the OIE;
(4) ‘animal by-products not intended for human consumption’ means entire bodies or parts of animals, products of animal origin or other products obtained from animals that are not intended for human consumption as listed in Part 2(II) of Annex IV-A to this Agreement;
(5) ‘plants’ means living plants and specified living parts thereof, including seeds and germplasm:
(a) fruits, in the botanical sense, other than those preserved by deep freezing;
(b) vegetables, other than those preserved by deep freezing;
(c) tubers, corms, bulbs, rhizomes;
(d) cut flowers;
(e) branches with foliage;
(f) cut trees retaining foliage;
(g) plant tissue cultures;
(h) leaves, foliage;
(i) live pollen; and
(j) bud-wood, cuttings, scions.
(6) ‘plant products’ means products of plant origin, unprocessed or having undergone simple preparation in so far as these are not plants, set out in Part 3 of Annex IV-A to this Agreement;
(7) ‘seeds’ means seeds in the botanical sense, intended for planting;
(8) ‘pests’ means any species, strain or biotype of plant, animal or pathogenic agent injurious to plants or plant products (harmful organisms);
(9) ‘protected zones’ means zones within the meaning of Article 2(1)(h) of Council Directive 2000/29/EC of 8 May 2000 on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community, or any successor provision;
(10) ‘animal disease’ means a clinical or pathological manifestation in animals of an infection;
(11) ‘aquaculture disease’ means clinical or non-clinical infection with one or more of the aetiological agents of the diseases referred to in the Aquatic Animal Health Code of the OIE;
(12) ‘infection in animals’ means the situation where animals maintain an infectious agent with or without presence of clinical or pathological manifestation of an infection;
(13) ‘animal welfare standards’ means standards for the protection of animals developed and applied by the Parties and, as appropriate, in line with the OIE standards;
(14) ‘appropriate level of sanitary and phytosanitary protection’ means the appropriate level of sanitary and phytosanitary protection as defined in paragraph 5 of Annex A to the SPS Agreement;
(15) ‘region’ means with regard to animal health a zone or a region as defined in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the OIE, and with regard to aquaculture a zone as defined in the Aquatic Animal Health Code of the OIE. For the Union the term ‘territory’ or ‘country’ shall mean the territory of the Union;
(16) ‘pest free area (PFA)’ means an area in which a specific pest does not occur as demonstrated by scientific evidence and in which, where appropriate, this condition is being officially maintained;
(17) ‘regionalisation’ means the concept of regionalisation as described in Article 6 of the SPS Agreement;
(18) ‘consignment of animals or animal products’ means a number of animals or a quantity of animal products of the same type, covered by the same certificate or document, conveyed by the same means of transport, consigned by a single consignor and originating in the same exporting Party or region(s) of the Party. A consignment of animals may be composed of one or more commodities or lots;
(19) ‘consignment of plants or plant products’ means a quantity of plants, plant products and/or other objects being moved from a Party to another Party and covered, when required, by a single phytosanitary certificate. A consignment may be composed of one or more commodities or lots;
(20) ‘lot’ means a number or units of a single commodity, identifiable by its homogeneity of composition and origin, and forming part of a consignment;
(21) ‘equivalence for trade purposes’ (equivalence) means that the measures listed in Annex IV to this Agreement applied in the exporting Party, whether or not different from the measures listed in that Annex applied in the importing Party, objectively achieve the importing Party's appropriate level of protection or acceptable level of risk;
(22) ‘sector’ means the production and trade structure for a product or category of products in a Party;
(23) ‘sub-sector’ means a well-defined and controlled part of a sector;
(24) ‘commodity’ means the products or objects referred to in points 2 to 7;
(25) ‘specific import permit’ means a formal prior authorisation by the competent authorities of the importing Party addressed to an individual importer as a condition for import of a single consignment or multiple consignments of a commodity from the exporting Party, within the scope of this Chapter;
(26) ‘working days’ means weekdays except Sunday, Saturday and public holidays in one of the Parties;
(27) ‘inspection’ means the examination of any aspect of feed, food, animal health and animal welfare in order to verify that such aspect(s) comply with the legal requirements of feed and food law and animal health and animal welfare rules;
(28) ‘plant health inspection’ means official visual examination of plants, plant products or other regulated objects to determine if pests are present and/or to determine compliance with phytosanitary regulations;
(29) ‘verification’ means checking, by examination and consideration of objective evidence, whether specified requirements have been fulfilled.
Article 54. Competent Authorities
The Parties shall inform each other about the structure, organisation and division of competences of their competent authorities during the first meeting of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Sub-Committee referred to in Article 65 of this Agreement (‘SPS Sub-Committee’). The Parties shall inform each other of any change of the structure, organisation and division of competences, including of the contact points, concerning such competent authorities.
Article 55. Gradual Approximation
1. Georgia shall continue to gradually approximate its sanitary and phytosanitary, animal welfare and other legislative measures as laid down in Annex IV to this Agreement to that of the Union in accordance with the principles and procedure set out in Annex XI to this Agreement.
2. The Parties shall cooperate on gradual approximation and capacity building.
3. The SPS Sub-Committee shall regularly monitor the implementation of the approximation process set out in Annex XI to this Agreement in order to provide necessary recommendations on approximation.
4. No later than six months after the entry into force of this Agreement, Georgia shall submit a list of the EU sanitary and phytosanitary, animal welfare and other legislative measures as defined in Annex IV to this Agreement that Georgia will approximate. The list shall be divided into priority areas, in which trade in a specific commodity or a group of commodities will be facilitated by means of approximation. This approximation list shall serve as a reference document for the implementation of this Chapter.
Article 56. Recognition for Trade Purposes of Animal Health and Pest Status and Regional Conditions
Recognition of status for animal diseases, infections in animals or pests
1. As regards animal diseases and infections in animals (including zoonosis), the following shall apply:
(a) the importing Party shall recognise for trade purposes the animal health status of the exporting Party or its regions determined in accordance with the procedure set out in Annex VI to this Agreement, with respect to animal diseases specified in Annex V-A to this Agreement;
(b) where a Party considers that it has, for its territory or a region within its territory, a special status with respect to a specific animal disease other than a disease listed in Annex V-A to this Agreement, it may request recognition of this status in accordance with the procedure laid down in Annex VI Part C to this Agreement. In this regard, the importing Party may request guarantees, accompanied with an explanatory note, in respect of imports of live animals and animal products, which are appropriate to the agreed status of the Parties;
(c) the Parties recognise as the basis for trade between them the status of the territories or the regions, or the status in a sector or a sub-sector of the Parties related to the prevalence or the incidence of an animal disease other than a disease listed in Annex V-A to this Agreement, or related to infections in animals and/or the associated risk, as appropriate, as determined by the OIE. In this regard, the importing Party may request guarantees, in respect of imports of live animals and animal products, which are appropriate to the defined status in accordance with the recommendations of OIE; and
(d) without prejudice to Articles 58, 60 and 64 of this Agreement, and unless the importing Party raises an explicit objection and requests supporting or additional information, consultations and/or verification, each Party shall take without undue delay the necessary legislative and administrative measures to allow trade on the basis of the provisions of points (a), (b) and (c) of this paragraph.
2. As regards pests, the following shall apply:
(a) the Parties recognise for trade purposes the pest status in respect of pests specified in Annex V-B to this Agreement as determined in Annex VI-B; and
(b) without prejudice to Articles 58, 60 and 64 of this Agreement, and unless the importing Party raises an explicit objection and requests supporting or additional information, consultations and/or verification, each Party shall take without undue delay the necessary legislative and administrative measures to allow trade on the basis of the provision of point (a) of this paragraph.
Recognition of regionalisation/zoning, pest free areas (PFAs) and protected zones (PZs)
3. The Parties recognise the concept of regionalisation and PFAs as specified in the relevant International Plant Protection Convention of 1997 (IPPC) and the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and of protected zones in accordance with Directive 2000/29/EC, which they agree to apply to trade between them.
4. The Parties agree that regionalisation decisions for animal and fish diseases listed in Annex V-A to this Agreement and for pests listed in Annex V-B to this Agreement shall be taken in accordance with the provisions of Part A and B of Annex VI to this Agreement.
5. As regards animal diseases in accordance with the provisions of Article 58 of this Agreement the exporting Party seeking recognition of its regionalisation decision by the importing Party shall notify its measures with full explanations and supporting data for its determinations and decisions. Without prejudice to Article 59 of this Agreement, and unless the importing Party raises an explicit objection and requests additional information, consultations and/or verification within 15 working days following receipt of the notification, the regionalisation decision so notified shall be deemed accepted.
The consultations referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall take place in accordance with Article 59(3) of this Agreement. The importing Party shall assess the additional information within 15 working days following receipt of the additional information. The verification referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall be carried out in accordance with Article 62 of this Agreement within 25 working days following receipt of the request for verification.
6. As regards pests, each Party shall ensure that trade in plants, plant products and other objects takes account, as appropriate, of the pest status in an area recognised as a protected zone or as a PFA by the other Party. A Party seeking recognition of its PFA by the other Party shall notify its measures and, upon request, provide full explanation and supporting data for its establishment and maintenance, as guided by appropriate FAO or IPPC standards, including ISPMs.
Without prejudice to Article 64 of this Agreement, and unless a Party raises an explicit objection and requests additional information, consultations and/or verification within three months following the notification, the regionalisation decision for PFA so notified shall be deemed accepted; and
The consultations referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall take place in accordance with Article 59(3) of this Agreement. The importing Party shall assess the additional information within three months following the receipt of the additional information. The verification referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall be carried out in accordance with Article 62 of this Agreement within 12 months following the receipt of the request for verification, taking into account the biology of the pest and the crop concerned.
7. After finalisation of the procedures of paragraphs 4 to 6, and without prejudice to Article 64 of this Agreement, each Party shall take, without undue delay, the necessary legislative and administrative measures to allow trade on that basis.
Compartmentalisation
8. The Parties may engage in further discussions with regard to the issue of compartmentalisation.
Article 57. Recognition of Equivalence
1. Equivalence may be recognised in relation to:
(a) an individual measure;
(b) a group of measures; or
(c) a system applicable to a sector, sub-sector, commodities or a group of commodities.
2. As regards recognition of equivalence the Parties shall follow the process set out in paragraph 3 of this Article. This process shall include an objective demonstration of equivalence by the exporting Party and an objective assessment of the request by the importing Party. This assessment may include inspections or verifications.
3. Upon request of the exporting Party concerning recognition of equivalence as set out in paragraph 1 of this Article the Parties shall without delay and no later than three months following the receipt of such a request by the importing Party, initiate the consultation process which includes the steps set out in Annex VIII to this Agreement. In case of multiple requests from the exporting Party, the Parties, upon request of the importing Party, shall agree within the SPS Sub-Committee referred to in Article 65 of this Agreement on a time schedule in which they shall initiate and conduct the process referred to in this paragraph.
4. Georgia shall notify the Union as soon as approximation is achieved in relation to a measure, a group of measures or a system as set out in paragraph 1 of this Article as a result of the monitoring provided for in Article 55(3) of this Agreement. This fact shall be considered as a basis for a request of Georgia to initiate the process of the recognition of equivalence of the measures concerned, as set out in paragraph 3 of this Article.
5. Unless otherwise agreed, the importing Party shall finalise the process for recognition of equivalence referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article within 360 days after the receipt of the request of the exporting Party, including a dossier demonstrating the equivalence. This time-limit may be extended with regard to seasonal crops when it is justifiable to delay the assessment to permit verification during a suitable period of growth of a crop.
6. The importing Party determines equivalence as regards plants, plant products and other objects in accordance with the relevant ISPMs.
7. The importing Party may withdraw or suspend equivalence on the basis of any amendment by one of the Parties of measures affecting equivalence, provided that the following procedure is followed:
(a) in accordance with the provisions of Article 58(2) of this Agreement, the exporting Party shall inform the importing Party of any proposal for amendment of its measures for which equivalence of measures is recognised and the likely effect of the proposed measures on the equivalence which has been recognised. Within 30 working days following the receipt of this information, the importing Party shall inform the exporting Party whether or not equivalence would continue to be recognised on the basis of the proposed measures;
(b) in accordance with the provisions of Article 58(2) of this Agreement, the importing Party shall promptly inform the exporting Party of any proposal for amendment of its measures on which recognition of equivalence has been based and the likely effect of the proposed measures on the equivalence which has been recognised. Should the importing Party not continue to recognise equivalence, the Parties may agree on the conditions under which to reinitiate the process referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article on the basis of the proposed measures.
8. The recognition, suspension or withdrawal of equivalence rests solely with the importing Party acting in accordance with its administrative and legislative framework. That Party shall provide to the exporting Party in writing full explanation and supporting data used for the determinations and decisions covered by this Article. In case of non-recognition, suspension or withdrawal of equivalence, the importing Party shall indicate to the exporting Party the required conditions on the basis of which the process referred to in paragraph 3 may be reinitiated.
9. Without prejudice to Article 64 of this Agreement, the importing Party may not withdraw or suspend equivalence before the proposed new measures of either Party enter into force.
10. In case equivalence is formally recognised by the importing Party, on the basis of the consultation process as set out in Annex VIII to this Agreement, the SPS Sub-Committee shall, in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 65(5) of this Agreement, declare the recognition of equivalence in trade between the Parties. This decision may also provide for the reduction of physical checks at the frontiers, simplification of certificates and pre-listing procedures for the establishments, as applicable.
The status of recognition of equivalence shall be listed in Annex XII to this Agreement.
Article 58. Transparency and Exchange of Information
1. Without prejudice to Article 59 of this Agreement, the Parties shall cooperate to enhance mutual understanding of the other Party's official control structure and mechanisms tasked with the application of the measures listed in Annex IV to this Agreement and of the performance of such structure and mechanism. This can be achieved, inter alia, through reports of international audits when these are made public and the Parties can exchange information on the results of such audits or other information, as appropriate.
2. In the framework of approximation of legislation as referred to in Article 55 of this Agreement or of recognition of equivalence as referred to in Article 57 of this Agreement, the Parties shall keep each other informed of legislative or procedural changes adopted in the concerned areas.
3. In this context, the Union shall inform Georgia well in advance of changes to the Union legislation to allow Georgia to consider modification of its legislation accordingly.
The necessary level of cooperation should be reached in order to facilitate transmission of legislative documents upon request of one of the Parties.
To this effect, each Party shall notify the other Party of its contact points. The Parties shall also notify each other of any changes to the contact points.
Article 59. Notification, Consultation and Facilitation of Communication
1. Each Party shall notify in writing the other Party within two working days of any serious or significant human, animal or plant health risk, including any food control emergencies or situations where there is a clearly identified risk of serious health effects associated with the consumption of animal or plant products, in particular:
(a) any measures affecting regionalisation decisions referred to in Article 56 of this Agreement;
(b) the presence or evolution of any animal disease listed in Annex V-A to this Agreement or of the regulated pests listed in Annex V-B to this Agreement;
(c) findings of epidemiological importance or important associated risks with respect to animal diseases and pests which are not listed in Annexes V-A and V-B to this Agreement or which are new animal diseases or pests; and
(d) any additional measures beyond the basic requirements to their respective measures taken to control or eradicate animal diseases or pests or protect public or plant health and any changes in prophylactic policies, including vaccination policies.
2. Notifications shall be made in writing to the contact points referred to in Article 58(1) of this Agreement.
A notification in writing means notification by mail, fax or e-mail.
3. Where a Party has serious concerns regarding a risk to human, animal or plant health, consultations regarding the situation shall, upon request of that Party, take place as soon as possible and, in any case, within 15 working days from the date of that request. In such situations, each Party shall endeavour to provide all the information necessary to avoid a disruption in trade, and to reach a mutually acceptable solution consistent with the protection of human, animal or plant health.
4. Upon request of a Party, consultations regarding animal welfare shall take place as soon as possible and, in any case, within 20 working days from the date of notification. In such situations, each Party shall endeavour to provide all the requested information.
5. Upon request of a Party, consultations as referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article shall be held by video or audio conference. The requesting Party shall ensure the preparation of the minutes of the consultation, which shall be formally approved by the Parties. For the purposes of this approval, the provisions of Article 58(3) of this Agreement shall apply.
6. A mutually applied rapid alert system and early warning mechanism for any veterinary and phytosanitary emergencies will start at a later stage after Georgia implements the necessary legislation in this field and creates conditions for their proper working on the spot.
Article 60. Trade Conditions
1. Import conditions prior to recognition of equivalence:
(a) The Parties agree to subject imports of any commodity covered by Annexes IV-A and IV-C(2) and (3) to this Agreement to conditions prior to recognition of equivalence. Without prejudice to the decisions taken in accordance with Article 56 of this Agreement, the import conditions of the importing Party shall be applicable to the total territory of the exporting Party. Upon entry into force of this Agreement and in accordance with the provisions of Article 58 of this Agreement, the importing Party shall inform the exporting Party of its sanitary and/or phytosanitary import requirements for commodities referred to in Annexes IV-A and IV-C to this Agreement. This information shall include, as appropriate, the models for the official certificates or declarations or commercial documents, as prescribed by the importing Party; and
(b) (i) Any amendment or proposed amendment of the conditions referred to in paragraph 1(a) of this Article shall comply with the relevant notification procedures of the SPS Agreement;
(ii) Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 64 of this Agreement, the importing Party shall take into account the transport time between the Parties to establish the date of entering into force of the amended conditions referred to in paragraph 1(a) of this Article; and
(iii) If the importing Party fails to comply with the notification requirements referred to in paragraph 1(a) of this Article, it shall continue to accept the certificate or the attestation guaranteeing the previously applicable conditions until 30 days after the amended import conditions enter into force.
2. Import conditions after recognition of equivalence:
(a) Within 90 days following the date of the decision on recognition of equivalence as specified in Article 57(10) of this Agreement, the Parties shall take the necessary legislative and administrative measures to implement the recognition of equivalence in order to allow on that basis trade between them of commodities referred to in Annexes IV-A and IV-C(2) and (3) to this Agreement. For those commodities, the model for the official certificate or official document required by the importing Party may, then, be replaced by a certificate drawn up as provided for in Annex X-B to this Agreement;
(b) For commodities in sectors or sub-sectors for which not all measures are recognised as equivalent, trade shall continue on the basis of compliance with the conditions referred to in paragraph 1(a) of this Article. Upon request of the exporting Party, the provisions of paragraph 5 of this Article shall apply.
3. From the date of entry into force of this Agreement, the commodities referred to Annexes IV-A and IV-C(2) to this Agreement shall not be subject to an import permit between the Parties.