Five MEPs urge EU states not to legitimize Georgian Dream
MEPs urge not to legitimize Georgian Dream
Five members of the European Parliament issued a statement urging EU member states to refrain from legitimizing the “self-proclaimed government” of the Georgian Dream party and, in this context, to suspend the work of the EU-Georgia Association Council.
The statement was signed by:
● David McAllister – Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs;
● Sergey Lagodinsky – Chair of the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly;
● Nils Ušakovs – Chair of the Delegation for Relations with the South Caucasus;
● Rasa Juknevičienė – Standing Rapporteur of the European Parliament on Georgia;
● Antonio López-Istúriz White – Head of the European Parliament Mission for Observing the 2024 Parliamentary Elections in Georgia.
Text of the statement
“We express our profound concern regarding the further deterioration of the political situation in Georgia. We are shocked by the news that former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia was violently assaulted in a Batumi hotel and afterwards treated in hospital. This is yet another example of the escalating violence orchestrated by the Georgian Dream and its allies against peaceful protesters and dissidents
We stand with the peaceful protesters who for 50 days have been demonstrating every evening in the streets of Georgia for a democratic and Euro-Atlantic future of their country. Georgia was for many years a champion of Euro-Atlantic aspirations with an overwhelming support of the people for this choice. That has not changed.
What has changed is that the Georgian Dream has denied Georgians their future and does not even pretend anymore that they want a European democracy for Georgia.
The deteriorating situation in Georgia should not stay without a response. We stand by the position that currently President Salome Zourabichvili is the only clearly legitimate representative of the will of the Georgian people. We do not recognise the results of the parliamentary elections on 26 October 2024, as they were fraudulent and did not respect international standards for democratic elections. We do not recognise any decisions taken by this body.
We strongly encourage the EU and its Member States to introduce personal sanctions against all those who are responsible for the democratic backsliding, in particular Bidzina Ivanishvili and Irakli Kobakhidze.
We encourage individual Member States and relevant regional organisations to avoid actively legitimising the self-appointed Georgian Dream authorities and call in this regard for suspending the EU Georgia Association Council.
We urgently call for early elections, conducted in an improved election environment, managed by an independent and impartial election administration with widespread international observation, to ensure a genuinely free, fair and transparent process that would represent the will of the people of Georgia.”
Earlier, the Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, David McAllister, stated in an interview with InterpressNews that the European Parliament does not recognize either the Georgian Dream government or the president appointed by it.
He once again called on the Georgian government to reconsider its decision to suspend negotiations with the European Union and to heed the demands of protesters involved in the ongoing demonstrations. Should Georgian Dream ignore calls for new elections and the release of detainees, McAllister warned that strict measures would follow from the European Union and, presumably, the United States.
MEPs urge not to legitimize Georgian Dream
