European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Adopts Critical Report on Georgia

The rapporteur, Lithuanian MEP Rasa Juknevičienė, expressed her regret at a press conference, stating that in the annual report, the European Parliament “could not assess any progress by Georgia as EU’s candidate country because, from being an inspiring leader among the Eastern Partnership states, it has become a brutal dictatorship.”

“The EU and its member states must take strong action before it is too late. We owe it to the brave Georgians fighting for a free and pro-European future,” said MEP.

The report describes the 2024 parliamentary elections as "rigged." According to the document, these elections paved the way for the ruling Georgian Dream party to illicitly capture state institutions and democratic safeguards, push ahead with repressive legislation while also cracking down hard on political opponents, journalists, and peaceful protesters.

European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee reiterates its position that the settlement of the current political and constitutional crisis in Georgia can only be achieved by way of new parliamentary elections, which should be held in the next few months in an improved electoral environment, overseen by an independent and impartial election administration and monitored through diligent international observation.

European Parliament underlines the role that Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder and honorary chairman of Georgian Dream, has played in the deterioration of the political process in Georgia and calls for immediate and targeted personal sanctions to be introduced against him, his family members and his companies and for his known assets in the EU to be frozen.

The report calls for the EU and its Member States to introduce personal sanctions against those responsible for democratic backsliding, electoral fraud, human rights violations, and the persecution of political opponents and activists. Furthermore, MEPs reiterate that the measures taken by the EU so far do not reflect the severity of the situation in Georgia and call on the EU’s leadership to rally like-minded Member States to take coordinated action and thereby surmount the political obstacles to adopting EU-wide sanctions.

Given the increasingly repressive legislative environment, MEPs also call for an immediate audit of the EU’s policy towards Georgia and on the European Commission to review the implementation of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement.

MEPs reiterate their solidary with the Georgian people and their legitimate pro-European aspirations. They also point out that the upcoming municipal elections in 2025 are another test of the resilience of Georgia’s democracy and political pluralism. As a result, MEPs call on the country’s opposition to seize this opportunity to reflect the unity of the Georgian people in support of democracy and the rule of law, as already demonstrated by the peaceful protests that followed October’s elections. 

The report will now be submitted to a vote in the European Parliament during an upcoming plenary session.

Yesterday, June 3, Georgia was extensively discussed at another European Parliament committee - the Human Rights Committee. Representatives of Georgian civil society and media spoke at this session.