Georgia at a crossroads on its path to European Integration – PACE report

Georgia is at a crossroads on its path to European Integration, the co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for the monitoring of Georgia, Claude Kern and Edite Estrela said in the report following their visit to Georgia from 27 to 29 March. 

 

In the report released on Monday, the PACE officials expressed their “serious concern” about the fact that, “at this important moment” for Georgia’s European integration prospects, the reform process seems to be “clearly stalling”. 

 

“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 the 12 priorities outlined by the bloc last year for granting its membership candidate status to Georgia was not new to the country, noting they largely coincided 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. 

 

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. 

 

They reiterated the need for continuing reform of the judiciary with a view to ensuring its role as a genuinely independent and impartial arbiter. 

 

While the corapporteurs lauded the willingness of the authorities to combat the excessive influence of vested interests in economic, political and public life, they expressed concern that – as emphasised by the Venice Commission in its opinion on this draft law – the so-called personal approach taken by the de-oligarchisation law would be difficult to reconcile with the European Convention on Human Rights.