Leading members of the European Parliament issued a joint statement following the refusal of the political parties in Georgia to reach an agreement mediated by the EU.

The signatories of a joint statement are Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs David McAllister, Chair of the Delegation for Relations with the South Caucasus Marina Kaljurand, Chair of the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Andrius Kubilius, European Parliament’s Standing Rapporteur on Georgia Sven Mikser, also Viola von Cramon, Michael Gahler and Petras Auštrevičius.

In a joint statement, MEPs deplore that Georgia’s political leaders did not agree to EU mediator Christian Danielsson’s proposal and announce consequences in terms of EU-Georgia relations.

“We are deeply disappointed with the political leaders in Georgia for their inability to reach an agreement last Tuesday despite the best efforts deployed by the European Union to help put an end to the current political crisis. Both the ruling and the main opposition parties taking part in the discussions are to be blamed for this outcome, and a special responsibility lies with the party in government.

We reiterate our strong support to Christian Danielsson’s tireless work and welcome the publication of the proposal he made to the political parties, which further increased the transparency of the mediation process.

It is essential to rebuild confidence between political party actors. The content of this proposal is indeed the right way ahead for Georgia: ambitious electoral and judicial reforms, meaningful sharing of responsibilities in the Georgian Parliament and, most importantly, a solution on future elections and on two cases of politicised justice.

This solution is politically balanced and respects both the rule of law and the international assessment of the 2020 elections. We also welcome the idea of a Jean-Monnet Dialogue process supported by the European Parliament when the political situation allows.

Following the refusal from the political parties to compromise, Georgia’s leaders should not expect a return to business as usual from the European Union.

The European Parliament in particular will call for consequences in terms of EU financial assistance, including both a suspension of further disbursements of and an increase in conditionality linked to EU Macro Financial Assistance and budget support programmes.

In the meantime, the adoption of ongoing electoral and judicial reforms in the Georgian Parliament requires broad political support and the need to fully implement the recommendations of OSCE/ODIHR and the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission. These reforms are the key to rebuild trust.

We call on the ruling party to ensure a genuinely inclusive process to avoid the further undermining of both future elections and the judiciary, as well as unnecessarily closing the door to a possible agreement in the future.

We call on Georgia’s leaders to take action immediately. The future of EU-Georgia relations is at stake,” a joint statement by leading MEPs reads.