The representatives of the political groups in the European Parliament pledged, on Wednesday 13 November, their support for the Georgian people, a few days after the parliamentary elections which they consider to have been fraudulent.
Rasa Juknevičienė (EPP, Lithuanian) said that the Georgian people, who “support a pro-European path”, deserved better and that Parliament supported them. “The EU must be very clear and address the people who were robbed of the elections”, she said.
“Georgia is one of the countries most attached to Europe, and young people in particular (...), it is up to us to exploit all the instruments to support, nurture and protect aspirations so that the people can live without corruption, in a country that respects fundamental freedoms, rights and democracy”, added Giorgio Gori (S&D, Italian).
Among the possible tools, Małgorzata Gosiewska (ECR, Polish) called for “full isolation of power by freezing European programmes and putting in place visa sanctions and a ‘cordon sanitaire’ around the regime on the international stage”. Similarly, Markéta Gregorová (Greens/EFA, Czech) said that targeted sanctions should be imposed on those responsible for electoral fraud and that we should “stand by the Georgian people who are demanding democracy”.
The Georgians “believe in us, they hope we won’t abandon them”, warned Nathalie Loiseau (Renew Europe, French). According to her, “Georgia’s fate will be the symbol of either our weakness or our righteousness and determination”.
Several group representatives considered that the elections had not been fraudulent. According to András László (PfE, Hungarian), who was on the ground during the vote, the elections were “fair and equitable”. “There was a democratic choice; even if many don't like it, we must respect it”, he added, stating that accession negotiations should continue, as the Georgian Prime Minister would like. Danilo Della Valle (The Left, Italy) echoed this view, saying that while the OSCE had not confirmed the fraud, “we are threatening to block the accession procedure because the people have expressed themselves in a way that we do not like”.
For his part, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Margarítis Schinás, pointed out that the Commission had reduced political contacts and suspended funds to the country (€30 million from the European Peace Facility and €121 million in direct aid to the government), but that it was supporting civil society. Moreover, accession negotiations are currently frozen. Mr Schinás pointed out that, without the repeal of the laws on foreign influences and family values, Georgia will not be able to move forward on its European path. “The sooner this is understood in Tbilisi, the better”, he warned.
The Foreign Affairs Council will debate the situation in Georgia on Monday 18 November. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)