Joint statement by:

• Sergey Lagodinsky, MEP (Greens/EFA), Chair of the Delegation to the Euronest
  Parliamentary Assembly
• Rasa Juknevičienė, MEP (EPP), AFET Standing Rapporteur on Georgia, Member of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with the South Caucasus (DSCA)
• Nathalie Loiseau, MEP (Renew), first Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s DSCA
• Michal Szczerba, MEP (EPP), second Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s DSCA
• Tobias Cremer, MEP (S&D), AFET Shadow Rapporteur on Georgia
• Reinier van Lanschot, MEP (Greens/EFA), AFET Shadow Rapporteur on Georgia,
  Member of the European Parliament’s DSCA
• Bernard Guetta, MEP (Renew), Member of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly

We, a cross-party delegation of Members of the European Parliament, have visited Tbilisi on 12 December 2024 to express our support to the Georgian people who are currently fighting for a pro-European future of their country. We met with President Zourabichvili, opposition parties, Public Defender, civil society, and independent media, who all shed light on the situation in the country following the rigged parliamentary elections and brutal repressions against the society, opposition, and independent media. Georgia is at a critical crossroads. Its democratic future is at stake. The constitutional obligation
to pursue Euro-Atlantic integration has been trampled by ruling Georgian Dream. The European aspirations supported by the vast majority of Georgians have been betrayed.
We arrived to Georgia to demonstrate moral and political support to the President Zourabishvili, the democratic opposition, and the civil society at-large. Their struggle is a genuine one. We stand by them.

We support the large and growing numbers of public servants who signed public statements,
resigned and joined the protests to fight for democracy at risk of their own career and
livelihoods, as well as those remaining independent institutions of rule of law who continue to pursue justice in the face of significant pressure from the state, such as the Public Defender. The protests include a large share of the Georgian population, who have flooded the streets in cities, towns and villages across the country, demonstrating that the rejection of the illegitimate ruling party’s decision is widely held amongst society.

We will take back to the European Parliament and our Member States a dramatic message
requiring immediate action. It is our firm belief that the recent parliamentary elections cannot be recognized; the new parliament was inaugurated in breach of established Georgian rules and procedures. In such a context, the election of a new president would lack legitimacy. Moreover, the level of repressions against citizens and independent journalists is unprecedented and unacceptable. The EU should immediately introduce sanctions against all those leading political figures who played a role in orchestrating the democratic backsliding, severe election violations, and the brutal violence against hundreds of peaceful protesters.

We call on the Council, the Commission, and the EEAS to take immediate actions to this end. We urge individual Member States to impose unilateral individual sanctions without any delay. EU leaders should visit Georgia to demonstrate solidarity and refrain from meeting with leaders and representatives of the ruling Georgian Dream party, while the Commission and Member States need to allocate immediate emergency funding to the independent Georgian media and consider appointing an EU Special Envoy for the European Future of Georgia. Further economic sanctions should be considered, in cooperation with the US administration. As our recent resolutions demonstrate, the European Parliament stands firmly by the Georgian people and their Euro-Atlantic aspirations. We expect all other EU-institutions and Member States follow suit.

The current political crisis in the country can be solved through new elections taking place within a year with the process conducted in an improved electoral environment by an independent and impartial election administration, under international observation. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, including all detained protesters, cessation of torture and the end to the harassment of independent media, democratic political parties and their leaders. The European parliament stands by the Georgian people and their Euro-Atlantic aspirations.