Why has Georgia suspended its participation in PACE?

Georgia has been busy dealing with several major developments over the past 12 months—there was a parliamentary election, tension over its EU membership, and shifts in its foreign policy direction. In short, a lot has happened.

On Wednesday, Georgia announced its suspension of participation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The decision was taken primarily in response to PACE’s adoption of a resolution that criticised Georgia and called for fresh parliamentary elections.

Tbilisi's decision to sidestep PACE also follows EU’s suspension of visa-free travel for Georgians in response to the alleged crackdown on pro-EU protesters.

The Georgian government viewed the PACE resolution as an infringement on its sovereignty and a misrepresentation of its internal affairs.

Georgia’s Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, emphasised that his country remains a member of the Council of Europe and his government was ready to cooperate on any issue. PACE is the Council of Europe's parliamentary arm that primarily focuses on discussing issues of democracy and human rights.

Kobakhidze said that “many reservations” in the PACE resolution were “unacceptable, unfair and groundless”, with the entry about new elections “going beyond jurisdiction of the Assembly, infringing the sovereignty of the state, and ignoring the will of over 1,120,000 of voters” who had supported the ruling party in the elections.

“If the attitude towards the Georgian people and our country changes, of course, we will return to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, however, in the situation we see today, of course, there is no point in working there”, he said.

A cycle of rising tensions

On Monday, EU’s foreign ministers approved the partial suspension of visa-free travel for Georgian officials who travel on diplomatic passports.

Speaking to Euronews, a day after the announcement of the suspension, Georgian foreign minister Maka Botochorishvili called the decision “politically wrong.” She claimed that legally, “it is absolutely groundless and nonsense”.

“There is no proof or explanation how Georgian diplomats are creating threats or threatening public order in the European Union or EU member states,” she said.

“I just think that it is absolutely against European values or something that we refer to very often, and that is very unfortunate,” she added.

Earlier, Polish interior minister Tomasz Siemoniak had said that a country “which trample down these values should not benefit from easier access to the EU.”

Botchorishvili rejected the idea and, and emphasised on Georgia’s willingness to pursue its path to EU membership.

“Georgia has been a dedicated partner for the European Union and that is not just empty words,” she said, adding that her country “is there with this intention to be part of the European Union. And we are very serious about that.”

After Georgia announced that they would withdraw from PACE, the EU’s Parliamentary Assembly President, Theodoros Rousopoulos said: “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.” He added that this jeopardises the dialogue that could help to advance democratic standards in Georgia.

Earlier, that day, the Assembly had ratified the Georgian delegation’s credentials but suspended several rights for its members. PACE stated it would reassess Georgia’s status in April but had a few conditions that have to be met – this includes, fresh elections, resuming the European integration process and release political prisonsers by April.

Taking to X, Shalva Papuashvili, who is the Chairman of the Georgian Parliament and a member of the Dream Party, said: “Despite the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has recognized the credentials of our delegation, Georgian Parliament is withdrawing its delegation from the Assembly until PACE returns to its original values. Disrespect towards the democratic will of the Georgian people cannot be a guiding principle.”

Earlier, talking about the EU’s decision on free visa suspension, he claimed that this move shows “how skewed the Brussels’ policy on Georgia has become, reflecting political biases rather than actual European values and priorities”.

He went on to share points of an agreement to simplify the issuance of visas for diplomats signed in 2010. These included the following: the unresolved murders of Sandro Girgvliani, Buta Robakidze, and Zurab Vazagashvili, and the seizure of Rustavi 2 and Imedi TV from their owners, organised by the Prosecutor General Zurab Adeishvili.

He went on to say that “this is the same Adeishvili who is wanted by law enforcement and who, just last year, was hosted by Brussels officials in the very rooms where this decision was made today. The final establishment of the system of prisoner torture in penitentiary institutions, which Brussels ignored, and which was later referred to as systemic torture by the European Court of Human Rights; The falsification of the 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections; The complete subjugation of businesses to the regime’s racketeering; And so on.”

“It was the creators of this flourishing autocracy (and not ordinary citizens) whom Brussels rewarded with visa-free travel at the time. As for citizens, visa-free travel required another seven years and the defeat of the regime by the Georgian Dream. This is why yesterday’s decision on suspending EU visa-free entry for Georgian diplomatic passports has nothing to do with values, but only with hypocrisy. However, this is hardly surprising coming from the place that demands the release of Saakashvili, the architect of an authoritarian regime,” he shared.

What lies ahead

EU has persistently questioned Georgia’s policies and electoral process – this reflects a pattern of political interference, despite independent reports confirming the elections’ legitimacy. According to the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), which monitored the elections, while there were political tensions, the elections were conducted fairly and reflected the will of the people.

“The ODIHR EOM assessed compliance of the election process with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections and domestic legislation,” the report’s summary stated.

Additionally, Georgia’s constitutional court rejected an appeal by former President Salome Zourabichvili to overturn the results, further affirming the legitimacy of the outcome.

Zourabichvili was born in France and served as French ambassador to Georgia (before entering Georgian politics), and in recent years, has become a fierce critic of the Georgian Dream.