Page 113 - SEVEN STEPS for COMPREHENDING the EUROPEAN UNION

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How European Commission Decisions Are Shaped

As has been discussed, the European Commission is the EU institution
which initiates a new EU policy or a law and submits it to the European
Parliament and the EU Council for adoption. In this light, it would be
interesting to explore how the Commission itself takes decisions.

At the initial stage, all relevant structural units of the Commission
are engaged in the process. The draft of an initiative prepared by a
relevant directorate general has to be sent to all of the relevant
services for their approval. Once approved, the draft initiative can be
adopted at the weekly meetings of commissioners through debates
(oral procedure) before it is sent to the Council and the Parliament.
Alternatively, commissioners can submit their positions on the matter
in writing (written procedure).
The European Commission may initiate policies and legal
amendments for various fields. For more clarity, here are a few examples
related to Georgia:

In 2003, after intensive consultations between the Georgian side
and experts of the Directorate General for Agriculture, the Commission
initiated the process of the recognition of Georgian wine by the
European Union. As a result, since 2004, Georgian wine has been legally
entering the EU market and without any quantitative limitations.

In 2003, the European Commission elaborated its first documents
with regard to the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP). The ENP
development triggered the Eastern Partnership Initiative of 2009 within
which the EU-Georgia Association Agreement, including the Deep and
Comprehensive Free Trade Area, was signed. The agreement offered
unprecedented opportunities for signatory states; namely, free trade
with the Union as well as visa-free movement for Georgian citizens in
Schengen zone member states, etc.
It was the EU commission which released its recommendations
of June 17 2022 and November 8, 2023, for granting to Georgia initially
the EU potential candidacy and then EU candidate status. Eventually,