Georgia’s Parliament Speaker, Shalva Papuashvili, warned that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) risks being misused as a means to further partisan agendas, rather than maintaining its role as a platform for dialogue.

“The prospect of PACE being transformed into an instrument for partisan purposes poses a risk to the Assembly’s integrity and credibility,” Papuashvili stated during his visit to Hungary.

He noted a concerning trend in the Assembly, where its platform for debate is increasingly being exploited for political ends. Citing a specific example, Papuashvili recalled how the European People’s Party (EPP) had previously supported a regime known for human rights abuses, including torture, corruption, and media suppression.

The EPP’s decision to reserve an empty chair for former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili at a conference was, in Papuashvili’s words, a “shameful gesture that fell short of European values cherished by the Georgian people.”

He urged PACE members to resist attempts by certain political groups to manipulate the Assembly for their own gain, emphasizing that any such move would irreparably damage PACE’s reputation as a forum for constructive dialogue.

During the PACE session, Boriana Åberg, a PACE member representing the European People’s Party, challenged the credentials of the Georgian delegation.