INTRODUCTION LABOUR AND SOCIAL JUSTICE TOO LITTLE, TOO SLOW Why Employees in Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine Do Not Benefit from the EU Association Agreements Ekaterine Kardava, Kateryna Yarmolyuk-Kröck, Liliana Palihovici Ò Despite commitments to international labor stand­ards through their Associa­tion Agreements with the EU, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine have great deficiencies in the field of employment. Ò The implementation of the labor-related directives of the AAs is insufficient. Poor and unsafe working conditions, informal and unstable em ­ployment, and discrimination in the workplace remain huge issues. Hundreds of workers die every year as a result of occupational accidents. Ò The three countries must work towards quick legal approxima­tion and effective implemen ­tation of the respective laws, as further stagnation could damage the legitimacy of the EU integration process. 1