“The members of the PACE delegation stated that their visit is intended to ask questions, and that they will refrain from expressing their stances this time,” said Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chair of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee.

According to Samkharadze, the PACE delegation had questions on several matters, including the Transparency Law and the amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences. They inquired about how comfortable we feel in parliament, given that a portion of the opposition is not represented, as well as about our pre-election commitments regarding European integration.

“We explained very clearly that we adopted the Transparency Law in accordance with the Georgian Constitution. Accordingly, we believe that this law in no way infringes upon any of the rights listed in the European Convention on Human Rights. We informed them that the law has been challenged both in the Constitutional Court and in Strasbourg. Therefore, we should await the outcome of these discussions. We also provided information indicating that neither the Georgian Constitution nor the Strasbourg Court perceives an immediate threat, which is why no request for a temporary suspension of the law has been made.

Our response to the question about the opposition’s presence in parliament was that this was their decision. We explained that this decision was conditioned by their hope for a revolution. Regarding the European Union accession process, we told them that there are currently temporary tensions over several issues. These include, on the one hand, the Transparency Law, and on the other, the unrest following the elections and the events of October 4. However, we remain committed to the European integration process and continue to fulfil our obligations under the Association Agreement. We hope that the situation will improve in the near future and that the dialogue between Georgia and the European Union will be restored, ” Samkharadze said.

Nikoloz Samkharadze emphasised that the government expects PACE to condemn the United National Movement’s (UNM) lawsuit.

“In response to the condemnation of violence, we were told that rapporteurs and co-rapporteurs do not assess the overall political situation or the actions of various political actors; rather, they evaluate how Georgia fulfils its commitments. We also discussed the lawsuit filed by the United National Movement. When Georgian Dream submitted a case to the Constitutional Court, PACE’s monitoring statement condemned this move. I informed them that the United National Movement intends to do the same, having consulted with its partners, and that we expect this to be condemned as well, since filing a lawsuit in the Constitutional Court is a prerogative of Members of Parliament.

A crucial issue raised was the participation of the Georgian delegation in PACE sessions. They expressed concern that we are not participating. However, we clearly reiterated that our suspension was due to a note in one of PACE’s resolutions concerning early elections. We explained that this is a red line for us and that we believe this note is politically motivated. If PACE’s position on Georgia changes, our membership will be fully restored.

They only asked questions. The only thing they conveyed was their desire for Georgia to return and participate in PACE sessions. They also told us that the purpose of their visit is solely to ask questions and that they are refraining from expressing their positions for the time being,” Samkharadze stated.

The Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, met with PACE co-rapporteurs Edite Estrela and Sabina Ćudić behind closed doors. The delegation also held meetings with members of the Gakharia For Georgia party and is scheduled to meet with various political groups and factions within the legislative body.