The parliamentary elections on October 26th could be pivotal for the further development of Georgia and its geopolitical progress — emphasized European Parliament members in a resolution adopted at the beginning of October. For many years, this country has been pursuing a Euro-Atlantic course, and since December 2023, it has held the status of a candidate country for the EU. However, the ruling Georgian Dream party is increasingly enforcing an authoritarian program. MEPs stress that laws passed by politicians in Tbilisi are increasingly diverging from European democratic standards.
“The October 26 elections will essentially determine for decades what Georgia will look like, what forces will be in power there. We are, of course, observing this as sensitive observers, but we are mainly concerned about the laws that have been passed recently,” says Platforma Obywatelska MEP Michał Szczerba to Newseria Biznes agency.
Similar opinions are heard among many European politicians. Recent years have shown that Georgia, which seemed decidedly on its way towards the European Union, has recently hit the brake.
“It seemed that for decades, Georgia had been set on a European and Euro-Atlantic course, because its aspirations are not only about EU membership but also NATO. Today, this path is being questioned by the authorities, including specific political decisions,” adds Michał Szczerba.
The recent resolution of the European Parliament draws attention to the fact that the ruling party of the Georgian Dream is increasingly pushing an authoritarian program, including in the media freedom area and the rights of LGBTQ+ persons. In the spring of this year, Georgia saw the biggest protests since regaining independence, where participants decisively said “no” to the foreign agent law. According to political scientists, these laws bear the hallmarks of a Kremlin DNA, as they are clearly modeled on provisions in Russian law. The law on foreign agents is considered a blow against non-governmental organizations. The aim is simple – to marginalize the political role of the opposition. In this situation, the opposition, centered around four blocks, created a document called the “Georgian Chart”. Signatures were placed under it by politicians who want improvement with the European Union and are simultaneously opposed to closer ties with Moscow.
“The law on foreign agents is a blow to civil society, which often seeks sources of funding for its activities from government-independent sources,” says Michał Szczerba. “Another law written in the Russian style is the one that hits the LGBT community. All this is disturbing. Also, internal pluralism or the approach to opposition is not a normal political dispute, but rather a hunt on the opposition and depriving it of the right to function, there is talk of outlawing the national movement after the elections. All this is disturbing because it is not a European standard to build a party that is to be the only dominant political force.”
“All these laws are inspired by the Kremlin, written in Cyrillic and have nothing to do with democracy. They are primarily intended to serve authoritarian regimes in strengthening their power, witch-hunting, looking for enemies where there are none: in NGOs, in civil society, or in minorities,” adds New Left MEP Robert Biedroń.
The EP resolution emphasized that if these laws are not repealed, progress in Georgia-EU relations will not be possible.
“The situation we are dealing with now in Georgia does not rule out Georgian aspirations for integration with the European Union. Here we need support from the European Union and its institutions, hence this debate in the European Parliament, hence such a clear declaration of Members of the European Parliament that we want to support Georgian aspirations and efforts to integrate with the EU,” says PO MEP Michał Wawrykiewicz.
The European Parliament notes that in the face of the “regression of Georgian democracy,” it is necessary to freeze EU funds going to the Georgian government until the non-democratic provisions are repealed. MEPs stress that future funds for Georgia may be paid on condition of meeting strictly defined conditions.
“As a community of democratic states, we must do everything to support all those who are protesting against Georgia’s abandonment of democratic values,” emphasizes Robert Biedroń. “Georgians are protesting against these changes, and these protests are very numerous, very strong and they are heard here in the European Union, in the European Parliament. We can, of course, expect the persecution of the opposition, we can expect that the current government will try to somehow persecute, punish the protesting people, but our duty as a democratic community is to do everything to support the protesting people and to protect them in case of danger.”
“Protests by thousands of Georgians on the streets, especially in Tbilisi, show that there is social resistance. So it is important that society has to express its will in these elections and hence the observation mission of the European Parliament will have a key task, because it will largely protect the direction in which Georgia will continue to head. We will also guard whether society had the opportunity to express their will in these elections in an uninhibited way,” adds Michał Szczerba.
The MEPs in the resolution emphasized the need for an investigation into police brutality against peaceful protesters who took to the streets in the spring of 2024 to protest against the foreign agent law. They also condemned the comments of oligarch and “honorary chairman” of Georgian Dream Bidzina Ivanishvili and the key figures of the government, threatening to outlaw opposition parties and calling the opposition a “criminal political force.” The resolution calls on the EU and its Member States to hold accountable and impose personal sanctions on all those responsible for undermining democracy in Georgia, including Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Currently, Georgia, on an area of nearly 70,000 km2, has a population of 3.7 million. It is the largest country in the so-called South Caucasus region. The state is a member of, amongst others, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and Eurocontrol. Since 2014, an association agreement of Georgia with the EU has been in force. Two years later, the country joined the EU free trade zone. On December 14, 2023, Georgia became an official candidate for the European Union.
