"I regret the decision of the Georgian delegation to withdraw from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) following the Assembly's vote tonight to ratify the delegation's credentials, subject to conditions," said the Parliamentary Assembly President, Theodoros Rousopoulos. "This jeopardises the dialogue that could help to advance democratic standards in Georgia."
Earlier, the Assembly decided to ratify the credentials of the Georgian delegation, but suspended many of its members' rights and said it would reconsider the credentials in April according to progress made by the Georgian authorities on reversing "democratic backsliding" in the country. The credentials were challenged on the opening day of the Assembly's winter plenary session in Strasbourg.
In a resolution based on a report by Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica (Latvia, EPP/CD), the Assembly said it would reconsider the credentials at its April 2025 part-session "in the light of progress achieved" on a series of issues, including:
- the organisation of "new genuinely democratic parliamentary elections", held under strict international monitoring and conditions of political independence of state institutions and election administration
- immediate and effective steps to "enable Georgia to resume the European integration process"
- an immediate end to police brutality and human rights abuses
- the release of all political prisoners before the Assembly's 2025 April part-session
Although approving the credentials, the Assembly suspended a number of rights of members the Georgian delegation "as a clear sign of its condemnation of police brutality and other human rights abuses". They may not join five of PACE's nine committees, become rapporteurs, observe elections or represent the Assembly at certain events.
The Assembly also said it would "explore ways of strengthening the participation of Georgian extra-parliamentary opposition and civil society in its actions with regard to Georgia".
