Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum calls for new elections in Georgia and immediate resumption of EU accession talks
The Steering Committee of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) released a statement today saying that it fears that the accelerating erosion of democratic governance and European values in Georgia “brings the country dangerously and, potentially, irreversibly close to Kremlin’s orbit”.
Earlier, the EaP Index found that 2024 brought upon Georgia “an unprecedented series of alarming setbacks that contradict the aspirations of the Georgian people and the constitutional commitment to European integration enshrined in Article 78 of the Georgian Constitution”.
The decision of the Georgian Dream-led government on 28 November to suspend the EU accession process and reject EU budgetary support until the end of 2028 has sparked another wave of nationwide protests, lasting for several consecutive nights already.
“This decision, allegedly influenced by Russian interests, undermines the promise to pursue full integration by 2030 and betrays the will of the majority of Georgian citizens who continue to demand a European future,” the statement says. “The protests have swiftly transformed into a full-blown crackdown on fundamental freedoms, with enforcement authorities forcibly dispersing protestors, beating and detaining hundreds of them.”
To reverse Georgia’s democratic backsliding, the EaP CSF Steering Committee urged the Georgian authorities to cooperate with the EU and international partners to reorganise the parliamentary elections under international supervision with the support of an independent election administration.
Following the re-run of the parliamentary elections, the Georgian government should immediately resume EU accession talks, uphold democratic freedoms, and unconditionally withdraw the laws on “Transparency of Foreign Influence” and “Family Values and Protection of Minors”, the Committee recommends.
It also urges the Georgian authorities to immediately and effectively investigate all reported cases of harassment, threats and violence against civil society, media and political opposition that occurred throughout 2024, including at the November-December 2024 protests.
The Committee also recommended that the European Union and its Member States intensify political and financial support for Georgian civil society, rights defenders and media workers, and impose sanctions on individuals and entities involved in electoral fraud, vote manipulation, and intimidation of voters and observers, as well as state violence against protestors.
The EaP CSF Steering Committee also calls on the donor community to cease all financial support and development assistance programmes directed toward Georgian ministries and government agencies and strengthen their support to local civil society in Georgia in a flexible manner as the needs emerge.
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