On Wednesday 9 July, the European Parliament adopted the report by Rasa Juknevičienė (EPP, Lithuanian) by 490 votes in favour (147 against and 49 abstentions), calling for new parliamentary elections in Georgia, believing that “the political and constitutional crisis” facing the country can only be resolved by new parliamentary elections, “which should take place in the coming months, within a better electoral framework, under the supervision of an independent and impartial electoral administration and under the control of (...) independent observers”.
The European Parliament notes that it does not recognise the “self-proclaimed authorities” set up by the Georgian Dream party following the “rigged” parliamentary elections “of 26 October 2024”.
MEPs urge the Georgian Dream to return to the path of democratic reform and Euro-Atlantic integration and strongly condemn the violent repression and arbitrary detention of peaceful demonstrators, civil society actors, political opponents and media representatives.
In the face of this democratic backsliding, the European Parliament believes that it is necessary to carry out an immediate and comprehensive audit of the European Union’s policy towards Georgia and calls on the Commission to re-examine the implementation of the Association Agreement. It also calls for immediate sanctions against the Honorary Chairman of the Georgian Dream party, members of his family and his companies. MEPs believe that the Commission and the Member States should step up their support, including financial support, for Georgian civil society and independent media.
See the report: https://aeur.eu/f/hs1 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)