Authoritarian backsliding in Georgia

Written declaration No. 819 | Doc. 16230 | 19 August 2025

Signatories:

Mr Iulian BULAI, Romania, ALDE ; Mr Knut ABRAHAM, Germany, EPP/CD ; Mr Mehmet AKALIN, Türkiye, ALDE ; Mr Richard BAKER, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Larysa BILOZIR, Ukraine, ALDE ; Mr François BONNEAU, France, ALDE ; Mr Marek BOROWSKI, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Bertrand BOUYX, France, ALDE ; Mr Christophe BRICO, Monaco, EPP/CD ; Baroness Sal BRINTON, United Kingdom, ALDE ; Ms Cat ECCLES, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Andrea EDER-GITSCHTHALER, Austria, EPP/CD ; Ms Béatrice FRESKO-ROLFO, Monaco, ALDE ; Mr Paul GALLES, Luxembourg, EPP/CD ; Lord Michael GERMAN, United Kingdom, ALDE ; Mr Stephen GETHINS, United Kingdom, ALDE ; Mr Oleksii GONCHARENKO, Ukraine, ECPA ; Mr Gustaf GÖTHBERG, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Mr Andries GRYFFROY, Belgium, ALDE ; Mr Serhii KALCHENKO, Ukraine, ECPA ; Mr Claude KERN, France, ALDE ; Ms Olena KHOMENKO, Ukraine, ECPA ; Ms Yevheniia KRAVCHUK, Ukraine, ALDE ; Ms Stephanie KRISPER, Austria, ALDE ; Mr Eerik-Niiles KROSS, Estonia, ALDE ; Ms Hanah LAHE, Estonia, ALDE ; Ms Carmen LEYTE, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Arminas LYDEKA, Lithuania, ALDE ; Mr James MacCLEARY, United Kingdom, ALDE ; Ms Mariia MEZENTSEVA-FEDORENKO, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Perran MOON, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Louise MOREL, France, ALDE ; Ms Oana MURARIU, Romania, ALDE ; Mr Marko PAVIĆ, Croatia, EPP/CD ; Ms Manuela PERTEGHELLA, United Kingdom, ALDE ; Mr Ryszard PETRU, Poland, ALDE ; Ms Lucia PLAVÁKOVÁ, Slovak Republic, ALDE ; Mr Dean PREMIK, Slovenia, ALDE ; Ms Marijana PULJAK, Croatia, ALDE ; Mr Alexander RYLE, Denmark, ALDE ; Ms Denitsa SACHEVA, Bulgaria, EPP/CD ; Ms Ingjerd Schie SCHOU, Norway, EPP/CD ; Mr Serhii SOBOLIEV, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Ms Elena-Simona SPĂTARU, Romania, ALDE ; Mr Georgios STAMATIS, Greece, EPP/CD ; Ms Kadri TALI, Estonia, ALDE ; Ms Rian VOGELS, Netherlands, ALDE ; Ms Albana VOKSHI, Albania, EPP/CD ; Mr Johannes VOLKMANN, Germany, EPP/CD ; Ms Elly van WIJK, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Mr Emanuelis ZINGERIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD

This written declaration does not reflect the position of the Assembly; only of those members that have signed it. It will not be considered further by the Assembly.

We, the undersigned, declare the following:

On 29 January 2025, the Parliamentary Assembly adopted Resolution 2585 (2025) ratifying the credentials of the Georgian delegation on the condition that Georgia meets democratic benchmarks by April 2025, including the release of political prisoners and the announcement of new parliamentary elections under improved electoral conditions.

Instead, the situation has worsened dramatically. Senior opposition leaders have been imprisoned. Civil society activists and journalists face politically motivated criminal prosecution.

This is no longer a series of isolated incidents but a sustained campaign to eliminate democratic opposition, restrict freedom of expression and silence civil society.

Furthermore, the Georgian delegation has unilaterally withdrawn from the Assembly.

This path of repression and disengagement violates Georgia’s obligations as a Council of Europe member and defies the Assembly’s authority.

The Assembly must uphold its rules and resolutions. Ignoring authoritarian backsliding within a member State undermines the very foundation of this institution.

If Georgia makes no progress in reversing its authoritarian course, we will challenge the credentials of the Georgian delegation on substantive grounds and call for the Assembly and the Committee of Ministers to begin the expulsion process of Georgia for serious violations of the basic principles of the Council of Europe mentioned in Article 3 of its Statute.