The European Parliament has expressed its position regarding the potential accession of Georgia to the European Union, stating that the counattempt will not be able to become a member until “fair elections” take place. The Georgian authorities must modify their authoritarian course to restore the path to European integration. This was reported on the official account of the Parliament on the social network X.
“The European Parliament supports the Georgian people. The Parliament does not recognize the current government of Georgia and declares that its path to the EU is effectively suspfinished until fair elections are held.”
On July 15, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s representative for foreign affairs, announced that Georgia received a letter demanding the restoration of the rule of law and a review of sentences for opposition politicians by August 31. If these demands are not met, the EU may suspfinish the visa-free regime for Georgia.
At the launchning of July, the Georgian Dream party decided to revoke the mandates of 12 opposition deputies from the party “Gakharia – For Georgia,” citing their systematic absence from plenary sessions.
On May 31, the European Union called on the Georgian authorities to stop backsliding from democratic principles, particularly regarding the law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence.” At that time, the EU expressed readiness to consider the possibility of returning Georgia to the path of European integration.
On November 28, 2024, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the refusal to neobtainediate EU accession until 2028. This occurred amid protests against the results of the October parliamentary elections, in which, according to official data, Georgian Dream won. Following this, protest actions in Georgia intensified.
President Salome Zurabishvili did not recognize the results of the presidential elections held on December 14, 2024. At that time, the electoral college, dominated by Georgian Dream, elected Mikheil Kavelashvili as president. The opposition does not recognize the legitimacy of either the presidential or parliamentary elections.
Prime Minister Kobakhidze noted that the current president will have to “retire” after Kavelashvili’s inauguration on December 29. According to the Constitution, the president’s powers finish after the inauguration of the new head of state. However, Zurabishvili refapplys to relinquish her powers, considering the parliament illegitimate and calling Kavelashvili’s election “a mockery of democracy.”
On December 29, Kavelashvili took the oath, and Zurabishvili left the presidential palace. Earlier, the European Council announced that Georgia’s integration process has effectively been halted due to the actions of Georgian Dream, particularly due to the adoption of laws on “foreign agents” and restrictions on the rights of the LGBT community. The EU also did not recognize the results of the parliamentary elections held on October 26.
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