The European Parliament endorsed a resolution on Georgia in connection with the European Commission’s 2023 and 2024 reports with 490 votes in favour, 147 against and 49 abstentions on Wednesday.
According to the document, “The European Parliament reiterates its position that the political and constitutional crisis in Georgia can only be resolved through new parliamentary elections to be held in the coming months in an improved electoral environment, under the supervision of an independent and impartial electoral administration and with the monitoring of international and independent local observers, to ensure a truly fair, free, and transparent process that reflects the genuine will of the people.”
The resolution reads: “The European Parliament emphasizes that it does not recognize the self-declared government established by the Georgian Dream party following the fraudulent parliamentary elections of 26 October 2024 and considers Georgia to be a state captured by the illegitimate regime of Georgian Dream.”
The document underlines that the “policy of non-recognition of the legitimacy of the one-party parliament and the president appointed by it should continue until there is a tangible change in the political course of Georgia and new free and fair parliamentary elections are held.”
The resolution calls for the EU’s and the Member States’ representatives and members of parliament “to refrain from meetings with representatives of the regime, starting with the current de facto president; continues to recognise Salome Zourabichvili as the legitimate President of Georgia and representative of the Georgian people.”
The resolution “calls for immediate and targeted personal sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili, his family members, and his companies, and urges the EU to cooperate with other jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, to freeze his financial assets.”
Based on the resolution, the European Parliament “strongly condemns the violent repression, arbitrary and politically motivated detentions without sufficient legal basis, and the systemic mistreatment of peaceful protesters, civil society representatives, political opponents, and members of the media; it calls on the Georgian authorities to refrain from the use of force, to respect the freedoms of assembly and expression, and to repeal the recently adopted draconian legislation aimed at suppressing public protests. It expresses particular concern over the growing number of political prisoners and once again calls for their immediate and unconditional release. The EU is urged to conduct effective and credible investigations into all acts of violence and to ensure those responsible are held accountable. The resolution expresses concern over the lack of independence in the judiciary, where high-ranking judges linked to ‘Georgian Dream’ control politically motivated court proceedings against peaceful protesters and government critics.”
Along with other issues, the resolution calls for the release of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. “Strongly reiterates its demand for the immediate release of former President Mikheil Saakashvili on humanitarian grounds for the purpose of seeking the necessary medical treatment abroad; emphasises that the Georgian authorities bear full responsibility for his health and well-being and must be held accountable for any harm that befalls him; calls, furthermore, on the Georgian Dream authorities to ensure that Members of the European Parliament are granted unhindered access to Mikheil Saakashvili,” reads the resolution.
Some amendments were made to the draft resolution published on the EP’s website on July 8. One of the amendments concerns journalist Mzia Amaglobeli. Her case is considered “politically motivated.”
Another amendment is about local elections scheduled for October 4. The EP says that the municipal elections will be held in a deteriorated electoral environment amid amendments made to the Georgian Organic Law and Election Code in December 2024.
MEP Danilo Della Valle demanded to remove the passage from the resolution on Salome Zourabichvili’s legitimization, though this amendment was disregarded. Moreover, the resolution includes the names of the detained opposition parties’ leaders.
