“Unexpected” Europeanization: The Impact of EU-Georgia Association Agreement on Occupational Safety and Health Policy in Georgia

Abstract The article investigates Georgia’s ongoing Europeanization process, a well-established topic in contemporary research. The study, on the other hand, focuses on the highly complex and largely unexplored field of labor relations, which has been in constant motion since the signing of the Association Agreement between Georgia and the European Union in 2014. The article explores the development of the Occupational Safety and Health Policy as a unique case study, showing the Georgian government’s partial commitment to meeting its obligations under the Association Agreement. This commitment has raised the Occupational Safety and Health Policy to a critical component of public policy-making, paving the way for considerable changes in labor relations across the country.