European Parliament adopts resolution on Georgia

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on Georgia. A total of 445 MEPs voted in favor of the resolution, 37 voted against and 97 abstained.

The resolution, titled “Attempts by the Ruling Party Georgian Dream to Ban Opposition Parties in Georgia,” was prepared by around 70 MEPs from six different political groups. Its authors include Rasa Juknevičienė, David McAllister, Tobias Cremer, and Małgorzata Gosiewska.

In the resolution adopted today, MEPs “reaffirm their support for the European aspirations of the Georgian people and reiterate their call for targeted sanctions against those responsible for democratic backsliding, violent repression and political persecution, first and foremost Bidzina Ivanishvili, Irakli Kobakhidze, Shalva Papuashvili and Kakha Kaladze.”

According to the resolution, measures against the Georgian authorities should be taken in light of what MEPs describe as a progressive deterioration of the situation in Georgia, including in terms of democracy, media freedom, human rights and the rule of law.

The resolution also refers to a constitutional lawsuit filed in November 2025 by the Georgian Parliament seeking to ban opposition parties, including the United National Movement, Coalition for Change and Strong Georgia – Lelo. According to the document, the Federalists were subsequently added to the case, while For Georgia, described in the resolution as the only opposition party represented in Parliament, was added to the list in September 2026.

MEPs describe the process as part of what they characterize as a broader strategy by Georgian Dream to turn Georgia into a one-party regime by eliminating political pluralism, comparing it to the models of Russia and Belarus.

The resolution also cites the appointment of new judges to Georgia’s Constitutional Court in September 2026, which MEPs say raises “serious doubts” about their independence.

It further refers to the closure of the offices of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Tbilisi in September 2026, saying the organizations were forced to close after the authorities refused to finance their projects under the Law on Grants.

The resolution also refers to what it describes as the imprisonment of numerous journalists amid government repression against the opposition and civil society.

MEPs condemn attempts to ban Georgia’s opposition parties and call for the constitutional lawsuit against them to be withdrawn immediately. They stress that a functioning political opposition is an essential pillar of democracy and that eliminating legitimate political opposition through judicial proceedings is incompatible with democracy.

The resolution also states that banning an opposition party represented in the Georgian Parliament contradicts what it describes as the government’s previous narrative that only parties that had boycotted Parliament were being targeted.

“Parliament denounces the misuse of legislation and institutions to silence political opponents in Georgia. It strongly condemns the attempts to ban opposition parties and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and peaceful protesters, including Elene Khoshtaria, 2025 Sakharov Prize laureate Mzia Amaglobeli, Mikheil Saakashvili, Giorgi Baramidze and Nika Melia,” the resolution reads.

They further call on the authorities to repeal provisions imposing disproportionate restrictions on banned parties and individuals, condemn what they describe as the “abuse” of legislation and state institutions to silence political opponents, and call on the Georgian authorities to remove obstacles facing European political foundations.

The resolution expresses regret over what MEPs describe as the “lack of action” of the EU and most member states in ensuring tangible results in response to the deteriorating situation in Georgia.

MEPs once again call for targeted sanctions and visa bans against those responsible for democratic backsliding, violent repression and political persecution, naming Bidzina Ivanishvili, Irakli Kobakhidze, Shalva Papuashvili and Kakha Kaladze in particular.

The resolution also reaffirms the European Parliament’s support for the Georgian people’s European aspirations and recalls its previous warnings that any attempt to ban existing political parties would move Georgia away from the EU and hinder any steps toward EU membership.

The European Parliament also rejected two amendments submitted to the draft resolution.

The amendments were proposed by Tomasz Froelich and Petar Volgin, members of the Europe of Sovereign Nations group.

The first amendment sought to remove from the resolution the statement that attempts by Georgian Dream to ban opposition parties form part of a broader strategy to establish a one-party regime in Georgia.

The proposed replacement text would have emphasized political pluralism and stated that political parties should only be banned in exceptional circumstances and subject to strict requirements of legality, necessity and proportionality.

The second amendment sought to alter the resolution’s fourth paragraph, which calls on the EU to impose targeted sanctions and visa bans on individuals responsible for democratic backsliding, violent repression and political persecution in Georgia, specifically naming Bidzina Ivanishvili, Irakli Kobakhidze, Shalva Papuashvili and Kakha Kaladze.

The amendment proposed by Froelich and Volgin would instead have called on the EU to respect what they described as the Georgian people’s democratic choice expressed in the 2024 parliamentary and 2025 local elections. It also stated that the EU’s confrontational approach and support for attempts to change the results of Georgia’s elections were damaging democracy in the country.

The European Parliament rejected both amendments, and neither was included in the final text of the resolution.