European Council President Charles Michel Tuesday called on Georgia's ruling party and the opposition to begin "hard work" towards political reforms after they signed an agreement to end a months-long standoff. Michel said that the former Soviet country, which aspires to join the European Union and NATO, had advanced towards closer cooperation with European and Atlantic alliances by securing the agreement. The ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition that have boycotted parliament signed the EU-brokered accord Monday to end the protest and pave the way for sweeping electoral and judicial reforms. But Georgia's main opposition force, the United National Movement (UNM) said it would only join the deal after its leader is released from prison. "The political crisis is over," Michel said in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Tuesday. But he cautioned that "constructive political engagement needs to be sustained." "Today marks a new beginning and the start of hard work that will take Georgia forward along its Euro-Atlantic path," he said in a televised statement. The Caucasus nation has been gripped by a political crisis since October's parliamentary elections, which opposition parties denounced as rigged. After the vote, opposition lawmakers refused to assume their seats in the new parliament and staged mass protests to demand snap polls. The stalemate worsened in February after police arrested UNM leader Nika Melia in a violent raid on his party headquarters, leading to the prime minister's resignation and prompting swift condemnation from the West. On a visit to Tbilisi last month, Michel initiated inter-party talks aimed at diffusing the spiralling crisis. The parties hammered out the agreement after two failed attempts. The Georgian government has announced plans to formally apply for the EU membership in 2024. im/jbr/pvh