On October 10, following debates on Georgia the German Bundestag adopted a resolution entitled “A European Future for Georgia”, which highlights the country’s democratic backsliding and the anti-democratic actions of the current GD government. The resolution calls on the German Federal Government to take concrete action in response.
The motion was initiated by the coalition factions SPD, Alliance 90/The Greens and FDP (20/13222 ). The coalition factions voted in favor, the Union faction, the AfD faction and the BSW group voted against. The Left group abstained.
As mentioned in the resolution, the authoritarian and anti-European course of the current government of Georgia deliberately puts Georgia’s European future at risk.
The Bundestag calls on the German government “to insist” at European level that “no further progress occurs in Georgia’s EU accession process” with the Foreign Agents Law in force.
It also calls on the German government “to work” at the European level to ensure that, in the context of EU integration, the Georgian government is called upon to withdraw the legislation restricting the rights of LGBT+ people’s rights and the so-called ‘Offshore Law’.
Regarding the anti-LGBT legislation and constitutional amendments sought by the GD, the resolution states that they constitute “an attack not only on the LGBTQIA+ community but also on human rights, freedom of opinion, and a free civil society.”
The role of the chairman of “Georgian Dream” Bidzina Ivanishvili is also emphasized here, and it is said that the goal of maintaining his power is higher than Georgia’s European future and democratic stability.
The German government is urged “to advocate” in the spirit of the European Council Conclusions of June 27, 2024 for free and fair parliamentary elections in Georgia by supporting international observational missions of the OSCE/ODIHR and PACE and “by making the future development of relations with Georgia dependent on free and fair parliamentary elections.”
The resolution calls on the Federal Government “to advocate at the European level for visa-free travel to remain in place for the people of Georgia in spite of the government’s democratic regression, as suspending it would affect the entire population, including the pro-European forces.”
The resolution also mentions sanctions. It calls on the German government to monitor the situation in Georgia and “to take note of any violations that could lead to targeted sanctions.”
The resolution also calls on the German government to urge the Georgian leadership to stop the unlawful persecution of peaceful demonstrators by police and prosecutors.
Furthermore, the Bundestag says the German government should call on Russia to respect Georgia’s territorial integrity and to condemn any Russian influence with regard to the illegal de facto control of Russian troops and any attempt to further destabilize Georgia.
