1.

2.

2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

2.6

2.7

2.8

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Actions undertaken through the Association Agenda should be implemented in full compliance with the AA/DCFTA, including its preamble;

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The priorities of the Association Agenda complement the responsibilities of the EU and Georgia to implement in full the provisions of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement now that it has fully entered into force;

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The Association Agenda should be implemented in full respect of the principles of transparency, accountability and inclusiveness;

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The Association Agenda involves an engagement from both sides in its implementation;

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The Association Agenda aims to achieve tangible and defined results through the progressive implementation of practical measures;

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The Parties recognise the importance of supporting the agreed priorities through appropriate and sufficient political, technical and financial means; and

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The implementation of the Association Agenda will be subject to annual reporting, monitoring and assessment. Progress made will be reviewed including in the context of the institutional structures set forth by the Association Agreement. Civil society will also be encouraged to focus their monitoring activities on the Association Agenda;

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The European Union will support Georgia in implementing the objectives and priorities set out in the Association Agenda. It will do so through using all available sources of EU support, as well as expertise and advice, best practices and know-how, the sharing of information, support to capacity-building, institutional strengthening and developing new assistance instruments. It emphasizes that the EU assistance is bound to jointly agreed conditionalities related to the progress on reform. It will also encourage and seek coordination of support from other partners of Georgia. The relevant EU financial instruments will also be available to help in the implementation of the Association Agenda. Notwithstanding this, the latter is not in itself a financial programming document and does not substitute for the programming or formulation exercises undertaken by the Parties.

(i)

Strengthening the stability, independence and effectiveness of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, and in particular by:

(ii)

Continue reforming the justice sector, in particular ensure the full independence of judges and strengthen the accountability, efficiency, impartiality and professionalism of the justice system, and of law enforcement agencies, free from any undue interference; continue the fight against corruption:

Justice sector

Short-term priorities

Medium term priorities

Law enforcement

Short-term priorities

Anti-corruption, public administrative reform and public service

Short-term priorities

Medium-term priorities

(iii)

Ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms through comprehensive cooperation on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including as underlined in Thomas Hammarberg's report ‘Georgia in transition’. This cooperation will notably include:

Short-term priorities

Medium-term priorities

Ill-treatment and torture

Short-term priorities

Medium-term priorities

Equal treatment

Short-term priorities

Medium-term priorities

Children's rights

Short-term priorities

Medium-term priorities

Trade Union rights and core labour standards

Short-term priorities

Medium-term priorities

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Continue to cooperate on increasing alignment of Georgia with the EU CFSP declarations;

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Continue to cooperate on alignment with EU autonomous sanctions measures;

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Continue cooperation on Strategic Communication about EU integration related issues;

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Enhance practical cooperation in conflict prevention and crisis management by facilitating the participation of Georgia in EU-led civilian and military crisis management operations, and consultation and training activities in the CSDP area on the basis the Framework Participation Agreement signed in November 2013 and in the multilateral framework of the Eastern Partnership Panel on CSDP;

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Promote and facilitate Georgia's participation in CSDP-related training and consultation activities (in the framework of the regular bilateral consultations and multilateral Eastern Partnership Panel on CSDP);

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Facilitate Georgia's cooperation with the EU agencies on CSDP related issues;

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Promote regional cooperation on security issues such as improved border management, migration management, protection of critical infrastructure, export control, emergency response, civil protection, countering smuggling and illicit trafficking (such as bio and nuclear materials) and the training and of appropriate personnel, including in in particular through the Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Centre of Excellence located in Georgia.

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Jointly contribute to an environment conducive to pragmatic cooperation and developing political dialogue and cooperation on regional and international issues, including within the framework of the Council of Europe and the OSCE;

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Promote peaceful conflict resolution and international stability and security based on effective multilateralism;

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Enhance investment in the resilience and capacity to counter hybrid threats of the Georgian state and society by including Georgia in the Capacity Building for Security and Development Initiative (CBSD) through providing institutional support, training and equipment that will contribute to the effectiveness of the Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy;

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Facilitate Georgia's cooperation with the EU on effective Security Sector Reform in Georgia;

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Promote jointly respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, inviolability of borders and independence, as established in the UN Charter and the OSCE Helsinki Final Act.

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Cooperate on, and contribute to, countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery through full compliance with, and national implementation of, the Parties' existing obligations under international disarmament and non-proliferation treaties and agreements, and other relevant international obligations.

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Cooperate so as to deepen international consensus on the human rights based fight against terrorism, including on the legal definition of terrorist acts, including by promoting agreement on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism;

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Co-operate on risk-based customs control ensuring safety and security of goods imported, exported or in transit;

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Tackle the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, including their ammunition, under existing international agreements and UN Security Council resolutions, and commitments under other international instruments applicable in this area;

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Continue to cooperate in the area of conventional arms export control, in the light of the EU Common Position on control of exports of military technology and equipment. Develop co-operation in the fight against trafficking of arms and the destruction of stockpiles;

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Continue contributing to the implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) on all its three pillars, in a balanced manner.

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Maintain effective co-operation between the EU and Georgia towards a settlement of the conflict within agreed formats, including consultations with a view to establishing ways for appropriate involvement of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia in the deepening of EU-Georgia relations;

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Intensify effective co-operation and coordination between the EU and Georgia on conflict resolution including through regular political dialogue;

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Maintain constructive participation in and ensure the support for the EU, UN, OSCE co-chaired Geneva International Discussions;

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Fully and effectively use the good offices of EU Monitoring Mission Georgia to contribute to stability, normalisation, including facilitating a safe and normal life for local communities living on both sides of the administrative boundary lines, and confidence building, inter alia through the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanisms and through any other appropriate mechanisms, measures or arrangements;

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Support peaceful conflict resolution efforts, including via undertaking contacts with the populations of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia in light of Georgia's reconciliation and engagement policy and EU's non-recognition and engagement policy on which EU and Georgia cooperate;

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Cooperate in sharing with the populations across the administrative boundary lines the benefits and opportunities stemming from the EU-Georgia political association and economic integration process, including the short-stay visa-free regime to the Schengen area;

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Take appropriate steps to encourage trade, freedom of movement and economic ties across the administrative boundary lines, including reviewing of legislation such as the Law on Occupied Territories. Cooperate in undertaking measures to foster people-to-people contacts, confidence-building and reconciliation efforts between communities divided by conflict;

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Take further steps to promote sustainable integration of IDPs across the Georgian society (property right, employment, targeted support).

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Continue joint efforts aimed at ensuring the full implementation of the 12 August 2008 Six-Point Agreement and its subsequent implementing measures;

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Continue joint efforts and undertake steps towards meaningful international field involvement in Georgia, including the full implementation of the mandate of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM Georgia);

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Continue working towards enabling the safe, dignified and voluntary return of all IDPs and refugees to places of origin in line with principles of international law;

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Taking steps towards the sustainable solution to conflict and without prejudice to the existing formats for addressing the conflict-related issues, the peaceful conflict resolution will constitute one of the central subjects on the agenda of political dialogue between the Parties, as well as in the dialogue with other relevant international actors.

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Continue to cooperate with the International Criminal Court by implementing the Rome Statute and its related instruments, giving due regard to preserving its integrity. Continue to cooperate with ICC with respect to August 2008 war investigations.

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Ensure a high level protection of personal data in accordance with European standards and take practical steps to guarantee the respect for the right to personal data protection, including in the criminal justice field; ensure the application of data protection standards in public and private sectors.

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Continue strengthening the capacity of the data protection authority (Inspector Office) and follow up on the application of data protection standards;

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Continue implementing the legal framework on personal data protection in all sectors in order to ensure a high level of data protection in line with the European instruments and standards;

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Approximate Georgian data protection legislation and practice with the latest European data protection standards.

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Ensure that the Unified Migration Analytical System and the Migration Risk Analysis are fully operational and report on consequent improvements in the analysis of migratory data and the assessment of risks;

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Develop mechanisms to fight against irregular migration and foster legal migration, including through continuous, targeted information campaigns on migrants' rights and obligations, rules regulating their access to the EU labour market and on liability for any abuse of rights under the visa-free regime;

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Report on progress in the phasing out of the use of Georgian non-biometric passports in accordance with the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan.

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Effectively implement Georgia's Migration Strategy 2016-2020 and the accompanying Action Plan;

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Update on a regular basis (at least every two years) Georgia's Migration Profile;

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Continue effective implementation of the EU-Georgia Readmission Agreement and ensure a smooth transfer of the Mobility Centres and reintegration activities to Georgia's state programme on reintegration;

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Continue to develop practical cooperation in the framework of the EU-Georgia Mobility Partnership.

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Effectively implement Georgia's State Integrated Border Management Strategy 2014-2018 and the accompanying Action Plan;

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Maintain a high quality of border checks and border surveillance with the help of the Border Migration Administering and Reporting System (BMARS) and the implementation of Border Operations Management System (BOMS) project;

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Progress in the demarcation of state borders with neighbouring countries.

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Efficiently implement the national Action Plan on the Fight against Trafficking in Human Beings for 2017-2018 and continue capacity development activities for the state authorities to proactively identify and efficiently investigate cases of trafficking in human beings;

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Monitor and report on the effectiveness of proactive identification and investigation of cases of trafficking in human beings.

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Continue efforts in the area of prevention and fight against organised crime;

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For the purpose of effectively tackling organized crime further develop cooperation between EU Member States and Georgian law-enforcement agencies, implement the cooperation agreement with Europol and continue cooperating with CEPOL for law enforcement training purposes;

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Enhance cooperation in addressing cybercrime, and providing relevant law enforcement training to Georgian authorities.

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Implement the National Drug Strategy and Action Plan 2016-2018.

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Continue ensuring a balanced and integrated approach towards drug issues in order to cope with the health and social consequences of drug abuse as well as ensuring more effective prevention and working towards reducing the supply of, trafficking in and the demand for illicit drugs;

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Continue the regular dialogue in the framework of Eastern Partnership (EaP) Drugs Dialogue;

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Develop further the cooperation and information exchange, including by making best use of the Memorandum of Understanding between the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the Ministry of Justice of Georgia.

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Align the Georgian legislation with the fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive;

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Monitor and report on the number of freezing and confiscation orders issued and on the estimated value of the property frozen and confiscated, in order to ensure the effective implementation of Georgia's legislation on confiscation of criminal assets.

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Continue efforts in further developing the legal and institutional framework for preventing and fighting money laundering and financing of terrorism, including through approximation with the EU's legislation in these fields;

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Continue to implement standards in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations on terrorist financing;

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Enhance operational cooperation on confiscation, asset recovery and asset management through effective communication and exchange of best practices between the Georgian authorities and the EU Asset Recovery Offices.

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Make full use of the operational agreement between Georgia and EUROPOL, signed on the 4th of April, in order to facilitate exchange of information on terrorist organisations, groups, their activities and their support networks;

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Take effective and intensive measures to sign and promote implementation of the operational cooperation agreement with Eurojust.

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Enhance judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters by acceding to and implementing multilateral conventions on civil judicial cooperation, in particular the main Conventions of the Hague Conference on Private International Law in the field of judicial cooperation as well as the protection of children, such as the 1965 Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters, the Convention of 1970 on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters, the 2005 Convention on Choice of Court Agreements and 2007 Hague Convention on Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance, and its Protocol on the applicable law to maintenance obligations;

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Enhance the judicial cooperation in criminal matters by acceding to and implementing the relevant conventions, especially those of the CoE.

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Further improvements in the area of trade statistics;

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Ensuring that no increase of currently applicable import duties in trade between the parties takes place following the entry into force of the Agreement (standstill clause);

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Support Georgia to increase the diversification of Georgia's export structure, including export of new products to the EU market;

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Close cooperation with a view to applying effectively the anti-circumvention mechanism;

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Assisting Georgia in drafting and implementing legislation it may intend to prepare on market access or other related issues (i.e. trade remedies);

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Ensuring exchange of information on market access-related developments and policy on market access.

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Developing legislation which Georgia committed to implement on the basis of the Association Agreement as provided in its Technical Barriers to Trade Strategy (TBT);

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Developing infrastructure related to administration of standards, technical regulations, metrology, market surveillance, accreditation, and conformity assessment procedures, including through EU support;

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Facilitating the preparation and adaptation of stakeholders, including economic operators, for the implementation of approximated legislation;

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Continuing the implementation of the Market Surveillance Strategy for industrial goods;

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In the Market Surveillance field, strengthening administrative capacities of relevant Georgian state institutions and market surveillance bodies;

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Further staff training for the administration of responsible government bodies and agencies;

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Exchanging information on all relevant aspects of the Georgian TBT and Market Surveillance Strategies, including timeframes as applicable.

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Supporting the early warning system for the food and feed, animal health and plant health safety;

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Organising information campaigns with relevant agencies, businesses and NGOs on the requirements for accessing the EU market, as well as with civil society on the relevant consumer aspects of food and feed safety;

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Providing further EU technical advice and support to Georgia in drafting and implementing the legislation, including training the relevant staff, providing capacity-building to the competent authority and supporting the improvement of the laboratory capacity, in line with the EU requirements;

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Enhancing adaptation capacity of Georgian business for the implementation of approximated legislation.

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Supporting Georgia to strengthen the risk analysis in the SPS field; ensuring veterinary phytosanitary and food safety checks at the border inspection posts;

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Facilitating the adaptation of Georgian businesses for the implementation of approximated legislation;

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Collaborating in the field of animal welfare and on the reduced use of antibiotics in animal production to combat antibiotics resistance.

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Implementation of the Strategic Framework for customs cooperation;

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Approximating Georgia's legislation on customs enforcement of IPR to EU acquis, as envisaged by the Association Agreement.

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Approximating Georgia's Authorised Economic Operator system to that of the EU;

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Continuing to modernise Georgian customs authorities;

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Continuing to simplify and modernise customs procedures;

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Assisting Georgia in its accession to the Convention on a common transit procedure;

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Co-operating on risk-based customs control and sharing of relevant information that contributes to improved risk management and security of the supply chains, facilitation of legitimate trade and safety and security of goods imported, exported or in transit;

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Strengthening dialogue on the fight against fraud to prevent illegal trade, including in excisable products, particularly through enhanced cooperation in the framework of the Protocol on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters;

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Considering the prospect of mutual recognition of Authorised Economic Operator system as envisaged by the Association Agreement.

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Discuss the current procedures applied by Georgian customs services in certifying and verifying the origin of goods.

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Substituting the current protocol on rules of origin (Protocol 2 of the AA) by a reference to the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention on rules of origin following Georgia's accession;

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Continue training on certification and verification of preferential origin to Georgia's customs service.

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Exchange information and experience on development interoperable eCommerce trading platforms;

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Exchange information and experience on raising awareness among stakeholders on implementing the key principles of the Postal Services Directive, in particular the universal postal obligation, as well as other postal sector policy.

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Providing precise and timely information on planned legislative work affecting procurement policy and its implementation, both for the legal approximation and the set-up of institutions in the field of public procurement. A comprehensive roadmap has already been adopted by the Government of Georgia on 31 March 2016, covering five phases of actions to be implemented during the period from 2016 to 2022. The Parties will further discuss implementation of the roadmap, also in view of ensuring the approximation of the Georgian public procurement legislation with the EU public procurement acquis as foreseen in the Association Agreement.

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Ensuring rights holders from both Parties a high level of IPR protection and enforcement;

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Strengthening the enforcement capacity of relevant governmental bodies or executive agencies, as well as ensuring proper functioning of the judicial system to guarantee access to justice for rights holders and implementation of sanctions;

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Supporting functioning of the National Intellectual Property Centre of Georgia ‘Sakpatenti’ in order to ensure protection of industrial property rights and copyright]; extending cooperation with third country authorities and industry associations;

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Taking measures to increase public awareness in the field of intellectual and industrial property protection and ensuring effective dialogue with rights holders;

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Taking effective measures against counterfeiting and piracy, including production of statistical information on those activities to be shared between the Parties.

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Strengthen the independence and regulatory powers of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) and share EU experience, including from the ECB, on monetary and exchange rate policy as well as financial and banking sector regulation and supervision policies, to further develop Georgia's capabilities in these areas;

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Improve the sustainability and governance of public finances by implementing fiscal reforms;

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Develop a sustainable, comprehensive and well-targeted social safety net.

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Adoption of the Rural Development Strategy of Georgia 2017-2020 and its implementation.

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Modernising and improving the efficiency of institutions responsible for agriculture development, including through participation of all relevant sector stakeholders in this process;

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Facilitating the gradual adoption of marketing standards for agriculture products to support a higher food safety and the implementation of quality schemes;

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Improving the competitiveness and sustainability of agricultural production, by fostering economies of scale via market-oriented agriculture cooperatives, by developing advisory and extension systems to increase production and augment exports; and by easing access to viable credit and financial resources for agriculture;

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Supporting the development of efficient value chains and supporting SMEs to increase their competitiveness in selected sectors with high export value;

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Moving towards the progressive convergence and implementation of effective agricultural and rural development policies, on the basis of proven EU models;

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Enhancing employment and living conditions in the rural areas through improved management of natural resources, improved services and infrastructure and diversification of the rural economy;

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Supporting the promotion of Georgian agricultural products.

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Further develop the internal control system under decentralised managerial responsibility, including functionally independent internal audit in state authorities by ensuring harmonisation with generally-accepted international standards, frameworks and EU good practice;

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Continue to improve the internal control and internal audit system in the public sector in line with a gap assessment between actual practice and generally accepted international standards, frameworks and EU good practice;

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Ensure further development of the external audit function of the Court of Accounts (State Audit Office of Georgia), in line with generally-accepted international standards (INTOSAI).

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Improving and simplifying tax legislation;

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Improving international tax cooperation in order to enhance good governance in the tax area i.e. the principles of transparency, exchange of information and fair tax competition;

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Improving capacity of the tax administration, in particular by moving towards a more focused, risk based system for tax control and audits;

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Taking measures to harmonise policies in counteracting and fighting fraud and smuggling of excisable products;

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Developing cooperation with the tax administrations of EU Member States by exchanging new experiences and trends in the field of taxation.

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Address statistical discrepancies in measuring bilateral EU-Georgia trade data;

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Continue ensuring availability of statistics and data to researchers, journalists and the broader public;

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Preparing for approximation to the EU acquis, in particular by:

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Supporting Georgia to gradually approximate its legislation to the relevant EU legislation and international instruments within the stipulated timeframes in annex XXIX of the Association Agreement;

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Strengthening consumer protection in Georgia, notably through training of government officials and other consumer interest representatives on the approximation with EU legislation and its subsequent implementation.

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Identify areas in which the EU could provide further training and capacity-building.

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Development of administrative capacity of relevant state institutions;

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Develop company and other relevant laws with regard to EU acquis;

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Ensure the implementation of the rules set by the new Company law related to the compulsory disclosure of information;

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Introduce relevant international auditing standards at national level and promote their application by all listed companies at national level;

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Provide timely, relevant and precise information about the state of play and development of the existing legislation in Georgia and its conformity with the EU acquis and exchange in advance relevant information concerning necessary institution- and capacity building relevant to the approximation of the EU acquis; (NB In this context, the government adopted the Action Plan for Financial Reporting and Auditing Reform. One of the tangible outcomes is the law on Accounting, Reporting and Auditing enacted on 8 June 2016).

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Identifying areas in which training and capacity-building should be provided.

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Establishing contacts and exchanging information with the EU financial supervisors in line with the Association Agreement;

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Providing timely, relevant and precise information about the state of play and development of the existing legislation in Georgia.

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Create a new regulatory and supervisory framework in conformity with internationally agreed regulatory standards, including new supervisory approach, tools and instruments;

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Improving the administrative capacity of supervisory authorities;

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Continue cooperation with FATF, the Council of Europe, MONEYVAL, as well as relevant authorities in EU Member States and signing Memoranda of Understanding between financial intelligence authorities of Georgia and EU Member States.

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Implementation of the Georgian SME Strategy and the corresponding Action Plan for 2016-2017;

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Implementation of the country-specific roadmap and the recommendations of the SBA (Small Business Act) Assessment to the extent possible;

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Linking SME development to the opportunities created by the DCFTA including through business (support) networks (such as the Enterprise Europe Network) and clusters;

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Strengthening the role of business and SME associations (including sectoral associations) in order to improve Public-Private Dialogue;

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Developing opportunities for Georgian start-ups to enter the EU and Georgian markets.

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Prepare for the approximation and implementation of the EU acquis in the areas of health and safety at work, labour law and working conditions, and gender equality and anti-discrimination as mentioned in the relevant annexes to the Agreement, and in particular to establish an appropriate law enforcement and supervision system in line with EU approaches (starting with the Occupational Health and Safety area) and to build capacity of social partners (e.g. training on EU health and safety legislation and standards and EU legislation and standards regarding labour law);

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Monitor the ongoing implementation of the New Service Model for public employment services;

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Complement the legal framework necessary to establish an effective labour inspection system;

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Further improve capacities of social services and of the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs in order to strengthen the capacities of the administration in charge of developing and implementing employment and social policies respecting the equal opportunities principles.

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Roll out the newly defined public employment services with adequate capacities and in line with requirements of the European public employment services;

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Continue establishing an effective labour inspection system in line with ILO standards in order to ensure administrative and enforcement capacities in the areas of health and safety at work and labour law, and strengthen relevant judiciary bodies;

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Develop a strategic approach to employment, aiming at more and better jobs with decent working conditions, better matching of skills and jobs in the labour market and promoting active labour market measures and efficient employment services, with a particular focus on youth;

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Ensure well-functioning social dialogue through the effective functioning of the Tripartite Social Partnership Commission and capacity-building of social partners.

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Efforts to approximate the legislation in the field of electronic communications with the EU acquis;

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Activities dedicated to strengthening the independence and administrative capacity of the national regulator in the field of communications, in order to ensure its ability to take appropriate regulatory measures and enforce its own decisions and all applicable regulations and to guarantee fair competition in the markets;

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Strengthening the sector by exchanging information and experience on the implementation of the Digital Single Market (DSM);

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Efforts to increase the cyber resilience of key critical infrastructure sectors and public sector organisations, drawing from relevant EU experiences and in line with EU norms.

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Fostering an integrated approach to maritime affairs, especially by contributing to the development of cross-sectoral initiatives in the maritime domain by establishing a working group on maritime affairs composed of the relevant ministries and services, and by identifying areas of common interest and actively cooperating with coastal States and maritime stakeholders in the Black Sea region, in the context of the EU Integrated Maritime Policy.

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Improving and enhancing monitoring and control of fishing activities and of trade in fisheries products and their traceability, in order to effectively fight Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU fishing);

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Taking necessary steps to achieve sustainable fisheries in the Black Sea, both in bilateral and multilateral frameworks on the basis of an ecosystem approach to fisheries management;

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Increasing scientific and technical co-operation with a view to ensure the capacity of monitoring fisheries based on sound and reliable data, and of evaluating the state of marine resources and of the marine environment.

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Supporting Georgia prepare for the implementation of the EU health acquis, as mentioned in the relevant annexes of the Association Agreement, in particular in the area of blood safety, tobacco control, quality and safety of substances of human origin (blood tissues, organs, cells), and communicable diseases in line also with Georgia's international obligations under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the International Health Regulations;

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Improve the coverage of the Universal Health Care Programme and reduce out-of-pocket expenditures to be paid by the patients. This issue is considered a main priority of the government and is reflected inter alia in an increase of public expenditure on health and comprehensive reforms to strengthen the health care sector;

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Enhance quality and accessibility of primary healthcare aiming at disease prevention and improvement of quality of life;

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Strengthen healthcare institutions – most of which are private-run – and their accountability through establishing quality indicators, value-based purchasing and other quality management processes including recognising accreditation of health care institutions by international accreditation bodies;

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Strengthening national multi-sectorial action to fight anti-microbial resistance inter alia by strengthening surveillance, prudent use of antimicrobials and infection control in healthcare settings.

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Pursuing the implementation of the EU aviation acquis in order to take full advantage of the EU-Georgia Common Aviation Area Agreement;

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Activities to improve safety across transport modes (aviation, road, maritime, railway);

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Developing infrastructure, in particular to start preparing and implementing further projects for the development of the extended core TEN-T network, as agreed at the 2016 Rotterdam TEN-T days' ministerial meeting.

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Complete Georgia's formal accession to the Energy Community Treaty as a contracting Party in line with the Association Agreement;

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Implement relevant legislation in the fields of electricity, renewable energy, energy efficiency, oil, gas, energy statistics, energy-related environment, and prospection of hydrocarbons, in the line with the terms and conditions set out in the protocol of accession to the Energy Community Treaty and in the Association Agreement.

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Take steps towards the integration of Georgia's energy market with that of the EU, and strengthening Georgia' energy security and regulatory convergence through the further implementation of relevant EU legislation, including related secondary legislation, applicable to Georgia, in line with the AA and Energy Community commitments and in accordance with the timeline agreed by Georgia in these frameworks;

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Cooperate on attracting international support for sustainable energy development including that from international climate funds and other financial instruments;

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Reinforce Georgia's energy infrastructure network and interconnections, in particular:

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Enhance environmental governance by adopting and implementing new legislation in Georgia on environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment, new legislation on environmental liability, by ensuring public access to environmental information and public participation in decision-making, by involving all interested stakeholders, as well as by integrating environment into other policy areas and by improving environmental information sharing in line with the principles of the Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS);

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Adopt the 3rd National Environmental Action Programme of Georgia (2017-2021);

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Start implementation of the National Radioactive Waste Management Strategy.

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Implement the 3rd National Environmental Action Programme of Georgia (2017-2021) according to the NEAP 3 timeframe;

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Implement the National waste management strategy and measures foreseen in the 2016-2020 action plan;

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Continue approximation of legislation of Georgia to EU acquis and implement the provisions of EU Directives and Regulations as envisaged in the relevant Annexes of the Association Agreement;

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Draw up a roadmap for the ratification and implementation of multilateral environmental agreements, including among others UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, and UNECE Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents. Advance preparations to become a party to Espoo Convention and its protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment.

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Finalise and adopt a Low Emission Development Strategy of Georgia;

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Start implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement.

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Approximate legislation of Georgia to EU acts and international instruments as envisaged by the Association Agreement in accordance with the relevant Annexes thereof;

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Elaborate the updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) document;

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Mainstream climate action in sectoral policies and measures and strengthen the capacity of different authorities to implement climate action across sectors;

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Enhance Georgia's transparency framework for climate action, in particular through a robust national system for the monitoring and reporting of climate policies, measures and greenhouse gas emissions based upon the EU model;

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Develop Georgia's mid-century, long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategy.

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Explore ways to define the most appropriate elements of cooperation in relation to the risk profile, legislative and organisational framework of Georgia, e.g. through bilateral administrative arrangements or Letters of Intent;

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Achieve progress on the development of a country-wide disaster risk assessment and mapping and support as necessary the development of the Electronic Regional Risk Atlas (ERRA) and ensure its effective utilisation at national and regional level.

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Ensure effective communication on a 24-hour basis including exchange of early warnings and information on large scale emergencies affecting the EU and Georgia, as well as third countries where the Parties are involved in disaster response;

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Facilitate mutual assistance in case of major emergencies, as appropriate and subject to the availability of sufficient resources;

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Promote the adoption and implementation of the EU guidelines on host nation support;

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Improve the knowledge base on disaster risks by enhancing cooperation on data accessibility and comparability;

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Progress with the development of a country-wide disaster risk assessment and mapping and to support as necessary the development of the Electronic Regional Risk Atlas (ERRA) and ensure its effective utilisation at national level;

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Initiate the extension of the Copernicus European Flood Awareness System (EFAS) to Georgia in cooperation with the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission;

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Improve prevention of and preparedness for industrial and NATECH (natural hazard triggered technological) disasters;

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Establish dialogue on the policy aspects of disaster prevention, preparedness and response through exchange of best practices, joint trainings, exercises, study visits, workshops and meetings on lessons learnt gained from real emergency situations or exercises.

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Developing a vision and strategy for the Georgian STI system (as part of overall education and science sector strategy of Georgia) within the European Research Area involving policymakers, the academic and research community, business and civil society leaders;

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Supporting the development and implementation of Innovation policy, including regulatory framework and infrastructure for innovation.

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Maximising the benefits to Georgia of its Association to the Horizon 2020 programme;

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Encouraging participation under the Research and Training Programme of Euratom, complementing Horizon 2020, particularly in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection based on competitive calls;

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Reinforcing human, material and institutional resources in order to improve research and innovation capacities;

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Carrying out joint work and exchanges with a view to promoting Georgia's further integration into the European Higher Education Area in the context of its membership of the Bologna process, including through strengthening an independent and development-oriented quality assurance system, promoting active participation of stakeholders and civil society in the reform processes and strengthening the academia-labour market cooperation for a greater employability of graduates;

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Promoting academic cooperation, capacity building and student and staff mobility through the Erasmus+ programme as well as researchers' mobility, career development and training through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions;

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Encouraging a strategic approach to vocational education and training (VET) with a view to bringing Georgia's VET system in line with the modernisation of EU VET structures as pursued in the Copenhagen Process and through its instruments and respecting the equal opportunities principles;

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Strengthening a strategic approach to youth policy and enhancing exchanges and cooperation in the field of non-formal education for young people and youth workers, as a means to promote intercultural dialogue and support civil society, inter alia through the youth strand of Erasmus+;

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Ensuring right to education for all children and young individuals, including those with special educational needs and taking further steps to promote inclusive primary and secondary education.

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Promote the implementation of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions;

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Cooperate on the development of an inclusive cultural policy in Georgia and on the preservation and valorisation of cultural and natural heritage with a view to fostering socio-economic development;

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Promote the participation of Georgian cultural and audio-visual operators in cultural/audio-visual cooperation programmes, in particular Creative Europe;

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Work towards reinforcement of independence and professionalism of the media in compliance with relevant European standards and approximation of the audio-visual legislation with the EU acquis as envisaged by the Association Agreement, inter alia by exchanging of views on audio-visual policy, relevant international standards including co-operation in the fight against racism and xenophobia;

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The exchange of best practices and regarding freedom of the media, media pluralism, decriminalisation of defamation, protection of journalist sources and cultural diversity aspects of media through regular dialogue;

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Strengthening the capacity and independence of regulatory authorities/bodies for media.

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Successfully complete implementation of its Regional Development Programme 2015-2017, including through establishment of effective inter-institutional coordination and multi-level governance mechanisms;

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Prepare a successor multiannual programme, including potential investments in areas such as innovation and SME's, with a view to building sustainable growth for all regions of Georgia.

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Further support authorities for strengthening multi-level governance and capacity building efforts of sub-national administrations and other regional development instruments;

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Support integrated, multi-stakeholder actions for Georgia's territorial development such as in the area of spatial planning, water and waste management, roads, electricity and other basic infrastructure, diversification of the rural economy, tourism and business development;

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Develop further the thematic cooperation and information exchange, including by making best use of the Joint Declaration on a Regional Policy Dialogue between the European Commission and the Government of Georgia;

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Review the implementation of the Protocol on Participation in EU Programmes on the basis of the actual participation of Georgia in specific EU Programmes.

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the EU Member States which are part of the Schengen area: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

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the EU Member States who not yet fully apply the Schengen acquis (those who are not yet part of the Schengen area without internal borders): Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania.