31 members of the European Parliament addressed a letter to Josep Borrell, the Vice President of the European Commission and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy and Security. They demand that the European Union take measures, including suspending Georgia's candidate country status, which would send a clear signal to the country's authorities.
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“The continued undemocratic behavior of the Georgian authorities, in particular their aggressiveness in pushing through a ‘Russian-style’ law on foreign agents, silencing and using force against peaceful demonstrators, has crossed the line. Such behavior has further increased tensions and polarization within Georgian politics and society, which runs counter to the nine steps to which the Georgian government committed itself when the country was granted EU candidate status, and can no longer be ignored by the European Union.
We call on you to take a firm stance and the following measures, which would send a clear signal to the Georgian authorities.
- First, the behavior of the Georgian authorities and the leading party Georgian Dream is contrary to the obligations of an EU candidate country. Georgia’s candidate status should therefore be suspended without any further progress in the accession process.
- Second, EU funding of the Georgian state budget and government programmes should be reviewed.
- Third, an interim assessment of Georgia’s progress in implementing the nine steps set out in the Commission’s recommendation of 8 November 2023 should be carried out without further delay. This measure was included in the Parliament’s resolution of 25 April 2024 on attempts to reintroduce a foreign agent law in Georgia and its restrictions on civil society.
In recent years we have worked tirelessly to support the Georgian people and their aspirations to join the EU. We remain determined to do so, but the democratic criteria for all EU candidate countries are the same and must be respected,” It is mentioned in the letter, which is signed by Petras Auštrevičius, Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, Guy Verhofstadt, Riho Terras, Theis Røtting, Olivier Chastel, Andrius Kubilius, Karen Melchior, Miriam Lexmann, Rasa Juknevičienė, Michael Gahler, and others.
Maka Bochorishvili, the Parliament's European Integration Committee chairperson, responded to the appeal of MEPs from Georgian Dream. According to her, the MEPs who signed the letter could have expressed these opinions in the resolution of the European Parliament.
"I don't know what else is left to be said about the resolution; however, this is an additional tool for these European parliamentarians to continue supporting the protest and to create a new narrative in Georgia," Bochorishvili said.
Georgian Dream plans to review and adopt the Russian-style law in the third reading next week. Josep Borrell has repeatedly stated that this law is incompatible with the values of the European Union and that its adoption will have a negative impact on Georgia's progress on the path to the European Union.
