On June 22, ALDE (Alliance for Liberals and Democrats for Europe party) adopted urgent resolution on Georgia “Condemning the authoritarian and anti-European turn in Georgia” at the ALDE Party Council meeting, which is taking place in Vilnius, Lithuania on the 21 and 22, June 2024. The resolution acknowledges the Georgian people’s will to joint the EU and calls on the EU and European countries to impose travel bans and financial sanctions on Georgian Dream leaders and officials, “Russian law” initiators, as well as law enforcement involved in violence against peaceful activists and politicians.
The resolution acknowledges that whereas the Georgian people aspire to join the EU, the adoption of the “Russian law” and the new tax law, “is taking Georgia in an anti-liberal and anti-European direction, which will prevent Georgia from becoming an EU member”.
It also acknowledges the condemnation from human rights organizations and states of the adoption of the “Russian law” and violence against protestors, opposition and free press in Georgia and regrets that “strong recommendations from the Venice Commission to repeal the “Russian law” has been ignored”. The resolution says that “the adoption of the “Russian law” is targeting the work for free and fair elections by restricting domestic observers prior to parliamentary elections in 2024.”
The resolution regrets the “threats and violence towards protesters, opposition politicians and their supporters in Georgia” and “the anti-European and anti-Ukrainian propaganda of the Georgian Government.”
ALDE political family calls on the EU and European countries to impose travel bans and sanctions on GD leaders and officials, initiators of the Foreign Agents’ law and law enforcement representatives involved in violence against peaceful protesters and politicians. It also calls to implement personal sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili and his family.
The resolution appeals to the EU leaders to “distance themselves from the leaders of Georgian Dream to prevent propaganda manipulation by the Georgian Dream as well as “to be clear about the consequences for Georgia’s membership, and the EU and member states to stress the consequences for visa-free travel and other EU-benefits, if the elections are not free and fair.”
ALDE also calls on the EU and European countries “to increase their support for civil society in Georgia” and to increase monitoring of the election in Georgia.
During its meeting on June 22, ALDE voted in favor to move the opposition Girchi-More Freedom party from affiliate to full member of the ALDE party. Another Georgian party- Droa became an affiliated member of the party.
ALDE is part of the RENEW political group in the European Parliament with 74 seats following the recent European Parliament elections, which makes it the 4th largest group in the European Parliament.
Also Read:
- 21/03/2024 – ALDE Manifesto: Our Ambition is that Candidate Countries Meet Accession Criteria by 2029
- 21/10/2023 – ALDE’s Urgent Resolution Calls on GD Government to Fulfil 12 Priorities
- 28/05/2023 – ALDE Congress Adopts Resolution in Support of Georgia’s EU and NATO Integration
- 06/06/2022 – ALDE Backs EU Candidacies for Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova