The European Parliament called for Georgia to be “abolished” and for Georgian Dream to be isolated.

Resolutions of the European Parliament have no legal force and are of no significance to Georgia, said Levan Makhashvili, head of the Georgian Parliament's Committee on European Integration.

The European Parliament approved a new critical resolution on Georgia by 490 votes to 147.

“I can assess the significance of this document based on the role the European Parliament plays in shaping the European Union's foreign policy. By law, it has no role. Therefore, this resolution has no significance and no legal basis or obligation for the commission or anyone else,” Makhashvili said.

He called the resolution biased and noted that such resolutions discredit the parliament.

“Naturally, the weight and significance of this resolution also diminishes from resolution to resolution. Then they should not be surprised that we often do not attach much importance to such documents adopted by the European Parliament,” Makhashvili said.

In turn, the National Bank of Georgia commented on the part of the resolution that states the need to disconnect the country from the SWIFT international payment system in order to cut off the “financial flows and sources of income” of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

As noted by the chief regulator, the Georgian banking and financial sector complies with all sanctions and meets international standards in terms of anti-money laundering, as confirmed by the European Union itself. Consequently, there are simply no legal grounds for such a decision.

What is written in the resolution

In the resolution, the European Parliament reaffirms its solidarity with the Georgian people and its unwavering support for their legitimate European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations and their desire to live in a prosperous and democratic country.

In addition, the European Parliament calls the recent arrests of opposition politicians in Georgia “politically motivated” and “without sufficient legal grounds” and demands that the Georgian authorities refrain from using force, respect freedom of assembly and expression, and repeal recently adopted legislation aimed at “suppressing” popular protests, in particular through excessive fines.

The European Parliament also expresses particular concern about the growing number of “political” prisoners and calls for their immediate and unconditional release.

Finally, the European Parliament deeply regrets that the ruling Georgian Dream party has failed to seize the historic opportunity offered to Georgia as a candidate country to advance on the path of European integration.

At the same time, the resolution states that under the Georgian Dream government, the country has not moved forward, but has in fact regressed in relation to the key provisions of the nine steps that the European Commission has defined for the country on the path to EU integration.

The European Parliament emphasizes the need for an immediate and comprehensive audit of EU policy towards Georgia in light of the “ongoing democratic backsliding” and the increasingly “repressive political and legislative environment” and calls on the Commission to review the implementation of the Association Agreement between the EU and Georgia.

The resolution names for the first time the leaders of the ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Irakli Kobakhidze, Shalva Papuashvili, Vakhtang Gomelauri, Kakha Kaladze, and Irakli Garibashvili, as responsible for the deterioration of the political process in Georgia by promoting the rollback of democracy. The European Parliament calls for the introduction of personal sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili, his family members, and his companies.

In addition, according to the European Parliament, the policy of not recognizing the legitimacy of the one-party parliament and the president appointed by it, Mikheil Kavelashvili, should continue until there are tangible changes in Georgia's political course and new free and fair parliamentary elections are held.

The resolution calls on EU representatives and member states, as well as MEPs, to refrain from meeting with “representatives of the regime.” It recognizes Salome Zurabishvili as the legitimate president of Georgia and representative of the Georgian people.

Paradoxically, the European Parliament still calls on the opposition to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the upcoming local elections to reflect the unity of the Georgian people in favor of democracy and the rule of law, as was already demonstrated during the “peaceful protests” in November-December 2024.

Reprinted from https://sputnik-georgia.ru/