Noting the Georgian delegation’s decision to withdraw from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the evening of Wednesday 29 January, Theodoros Rousopoulos, President of the Assembly, expressed his regret and stressed that “this jeopardises the dialogue that could help to advance democratic standards in Georgia”.
The Georgian decision followed a vote in which the Assembly ratified the credentials of this all-member delegation from the far-right Georgian Dream party, but subject to conditions that had to be met before the credentials could be reconsidered at the April plenary (see EUROPE 13568/29).
The demands included the organisation of “new, genuinely democratic parliamentary elections”, an end to police brutality and human rights violations, the release of all political prisoners and measures “to enable Georgia to resume the European integration process”, which was suspended by the pro-Russian Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidzé, last November.
By not immediately suspending powers, the Assembly wanted to maintain a dialogue, but was immediately rebuffed.
“We, the members of the Georgian delegation in Strasbourg and Tbilisi, have discussed and, by a collective decision of the Georgian Dream team, are ceasing our work in the Parliamentary Assembly as of today”, said Tea Tsouloukiani, head of the Georgian delegation.
In her opinion, the call for new elections “violates the sovereignty of her country”.
“Accepting this reservation would be tantamount to betraying our electorate and, consequently, the overwhelming majority of our society”, she added.
Georgia’s withdrawal from the Parliamentary Assembly does not mean that it is no longer a member of the Council of Europe.
Like Azerbaijan, whose delegation had its credentials suspended on 24 January 2024 for “non-compliance with the major commitments arising from its accession to the Council of EUROPE 20 years ago”, Georgia remains a member of the Council of Europe and continues to take part in the work of the Committee of Ministers, which is made up of representatives of the foreign affairs ministers of the 46 Member States.
In his statement, Theodoros Rousopoulos noted that the Assembly would explore “ways of strengthening the participation of Georgian extra-parliamentary opposition and civil society in its actions with regard to Georgia”. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)