The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the further deterioration of the political situation in Georgia.
The resolution was supported by 400 MEPs, with 63 against and 81 abstentions.
The resolution is authored by 57 MEPs from 5 political groups in the European Parliament – the European People’s Party, the Social Democrats, the Conservatives and Reformists, the Renew and the Greens.
The resolution calls for the European Parliament to:
- Condemn the “officials of Georgian Dream” and urge them to immediately cease the violent repression of peaceful demonstrators, political opponents, and media representatives;
- Emphasize that Georgia’s self-appointed officials are currently violating fundamental freedoms, basic human rights, and the country’s key international obligations, undermining decades of democratic reforms led by the political class and civil society;
- Consider Georgia under the control of the illegitimate regime of “Georgian Dream”;
- Not recognize the self-proclaimed government of the Georgian Dream party, which emerged after the fraudulent elections of October 26, 2024, which were neither free nor fair and violated democratic norms and standards, and do not reflect the will of the Georgian people;
- Urge the European Union and its member states, as well as national parliaments and inter-parliamentary institutions, not to recognize the legitimacy of the Georgian Dream one-party parliament and their appointed president; thus, call on the international community to join the boycott of the self-proclaimed government of Georgian Dream;
- Continue to recognize Salome Zurabishvili as the legitimate president of Georgia and the representative of the Georgian people;
- Emphasize that the political and constitutional crisis in Georgia can only be resolved through new parliamentary elections;
- Demand that new elections be held in Georgia in the next few months with an improved electoral environment;
- Urge EU member states and officials to firmly demand new elections, and make any future engagement clearly dependent on the scheduling of a new parliamentary election date and the establishment of a mechanism to ensure free and fair elections;
- Urge the Council and member states, particularly EU-25 (excluding Hungary and Slovakia), to impose immediate and targeted sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili, his family, and his companies, freezing all his assets in the EU for his role in the political deterioration in Georgia, democratic backsliding, and actions against the country’s declared Euro-Atlantic aspirations;
- Call on the French government to revoke Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Legion of Honor and impose personal sanctions on him;
- Welcome the bilateral sanctions imposed by Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic, as well as the sanctions already imposed by the UK and the US;
- Urge the Council and member states, particularly EU-25 (excluding Hungary and Slovakia), to impose personal sanctions on Georgian officials and political leaders responsible for democratic backsliding, electoral fraud, human rights violations, and the persecution of political opponents and activists, including Irakli Kobakhidze, Shalva Papuashvili, Vakhtang Gomelauri, the Mayor of Tbilisi, and General Secretary of the Georgian Dream party, Kakha Kaladze, and the Chairman of Georgian Dream party, Irakli Garibashvili;
- Call for sanctions to be extended to judges, including those in the Constitutional Court of Georgia, who issue politically motivated rulings, as well as law enforcement officers and financial enablers who support the regime, either overtly or covertly, and media outlets connected to the regime, including Imedi TV, Pos TV, and Rustavi 2, for their role in spreading disinformation and attempting to manipulate public discourse to maintain the current authoritarian rule of the ruling party.
“This resolution holds no value for us, as it is yet another—already the sixth—completely unjust resolution and an attack on the Georgian state and the independence of the media,” Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists after hearing the new resolution.
He claimed that such acts and resolutions “have a very serious impact on the reputation of the European bureaucracy in our country.”
“All of this reminds us of the nine-year period during which a harsh regime was in place, one that attacked statehood and the independence of the media in our country. This regime was controlled by the same forces that are now initiating such resolutions in the European Parliament. This is a very sad event. Such acts and resolutions seriously affect the reputation of the European bureaucracy in our country, in the eyes of Georgian society. We hope that the European Union, European institutions, and bureaucracy will recover in the future. The current trends are quite serious,” Irakli Kobakhidze noted.
Kobakhidze added that Georgian Dream is not surprised by such actions.
“I would like to remind everyone that until 2012, there was a regime in our country that operated on the instructions of the very same forces now initiating certain resolutions in the European Parliament, and their signature was the attack on independent media. It was this regime that raided private television stations such as Imedi, Rustavi 2, and other private broadcasters, as well as the Public Broadcaster. This occurred from 2004 to 2012, under the orders of the very forces that are behind the resolutions in the European Parliament today. Therefore, the attack on independent media is their signature, the handwriting of the so-called Deep State, the same global party. For this reason, we are not surprised by such actions. I’ll remind you again, this is the sixth resolution adopted by the European Parliament attacking our country. It is a very sad event, but it will not diminish our country in any way, nor will it affect our statehood or the independence of the media in Georgia. However, all of this will have a serious impact on the perception of European bureaucracy in our society. This is a very sad event,” he concluded.
