PACE MPs: “If Georgia does not change course, we will call for its expulsion from the Council of Europe”
Georgia may be expelled from the Council of Europe
51 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) issued a written statement saying that if Georgia does not change its political course, they will challenge the powers of the Georgian delegation and call on the Assembly and the Committee of Ministers to initiate the process of expelling Georgia from the Council of Europe.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the ruling Georgian Dream party told journalists that the Georgian delegation had already suspended its participation in PACE on its own initiative, and that the PACE statement now proves that “European bureaucrats are in a state of absurdity.”
The statement notes that on January 29, 2025, the Parliamentary Assembly adopted a resolution confirming the mandate of the Georgian delegation on the condition that Georgia, by April 2025, comply with democratic standards, including the release of political prisoners and the holding of new parliamentary elections under improved electoral conditions.
“Instead, the situation has sharply deteriorated. Senior opposition leaders have been arrested. Civil society activists and journalists have faced politically motivated prosecutions. This is no longer a series of isolated incidents, but a continuous campaign to destroy the democratic opposition, restrict freedom of expression, and suppress civil society. Moreover, the Georgian delegation unilaterally left the Assembly. This cycle of repression violates Georgia’s obligations as a member of the Council of Europe and contradicts the Assembly’s mandate,” the document states.
Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe stress that the Assembly must uphold its own rules and resolutions:
“Ignoring authoritarianism in member states undermines the very foundations of this institution. If Georgia fails to make progress in abandoning its authoritarian course, we will challenge the powers of the Georgian delegation on substantive grounds and call on the Assembly and the Committee of Ministers to begin the process of expelling Georgia from the Council of Europe for serious violations of the fundamental principles enshrined in Article 3 of the Statute of the Council of Europe.”
Commentary
Salome Samadashvili, former Georgian Ambassador to the EU:
“The Council of Europe is the first and most important European union that we joined many years ago. In fact, it was from here that Georgia began its path toward EU membership.
Today, our country is ruled by a regime that is essentially a continuation of Vladimir Putin’s Russian regime in Georgia, as evidenced, in particular, by the fact that none of the Council of Europe’s recommendations and requirements have been fulfilled; on the contrary, every step has been taken in the opposite direction.
It is obvious that sooner or later the issue of Georgia’s expulsion from the Council of Europe would end up on the political agenda. Fortunately, this will not be a simple process; the discussion will take considerable time. But the very fact that this issue is now on the agenda should serve as a serious signal to every citizen of Georgia about where Ivanishvili and his Russian regime are leading the country.”
Background
On January 29, 2025, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution calling for new elections in Georgia in the coming months. The proposal was supported by at least thirty members of the Assembly, representing five different national delegations, as required by the rules.
Following the adoption of this document, representatives of Georgian Dream announced they were suspending their participation in PACE. The head of the Georgian delegation in Strasbourg, Deputy Speaker Tea Tsulukiani, stated that members of the Georgian parliamentary delegation in both Strasbourg and Tbilisi had discussed the issue and decided within the team that Georgian Dream would cease its activities in the Parliamentary Assembly.
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