“Georgia is a European country, Georgians are Europeans. As Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania emphasised before the Parliamentary Assembly in 1999: ‘I am Georgian and therefore I am European.’ As PACE co-rapporteurs for Georgia, we have always fully supported, and tirelessly worked for, the country’s full integration into Europe’s institutional framework. Georgia and its citizens deserve this. Many reforms have been implemented since the country joined the Council of Europe and good progress has been made to bring the functioning of the country’s democratic and rule of law institutions into line with European standards and norms,” said the co-rapporteurs.

“Georgia is at a crossroads. We urge the Georgian authorities and all political forces to overcome their extreme animosity and polarisation, to set aside narrow party interests, and to jointly work with all stakeholders to implement the 12 priority areas for reform outlined by the European Commission in order for the country to obtain EU candidate status,” said the co-rapporteurs.

They highlighted that these 12 priority areas are not new to the country. They largely coincide with the reform priorities outlined by the Assembly in its most recent resolution on the honouring of obligations and commitments to the Council of Europe by Georgia (Resolution 2438 (2022)). As outlined by the Assembly in that resolution, a fundamental priority is resolving the extreme polarisation in the political environment that is overflowing to all areas of the society. Resolving this polarisation fully depends on the commensurate political will of all political forces, majority and opposition alike, to change their behaviour and attitudes.

In this context the co-rapporteurs condemned the increasingly frequent attacks, often by anonymous actors, against civil society organisations and their leadership, including by maliciously questioning their allegiance to Georgia’s sovereignty which can endanger their physical safety.

“A vibrant and critical civil society, as exists in Georgia, is essential for a well-functioning democratic society. We therefore call upon the authorities to resolutely condemn, and where necessary investigate, these attacks that aim to silence and stigmatise these organisations,” said the co-rapporteurs.