The European Parliament has adopted its first progress report on Georgia as an EU candidate country, focusing on political developments in 2023-2024. The rapporteur for the document is Lithuanian MEP Rasa Juknevičienė from the European People’s Party.

The vote was preceded by a debate on July 8, during which several MEPs and EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kosma, sharply criticized the Georgian Dream government for the country’s democratic backsliding.

Juknevičienė said that Georgia, which was “once a flagbearer of democracy,” has become a “Lukashenko-style autocracy.” She stressed that attacks on EU ambassadors and MEPs by representatives of the “Ivanishvili regime” have only strengthened the Parliament’s common position.

Juknevičienė proposed several amendments to the report, including one regarding the local elections scheduled for October. “Due to the arrest of key opposition leaders, these elections cannot be considered free and fair,” she said.

The report, adopted by the European Parliament, states that the ruling party’s decision to suspend the European integration process has undermined the country’s sovereign Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

The document condemns “brutal attacks” on protesters, “violent repression,” and “arbitrary and politically motivated detentions,” as well as reports of “systematic torture” of peaceful protesters, political opponents, and media representatives.

The report calls on the Georgian authorities to “refrain from the use of force, respect freedom of assembly and expression, and repeal recently adopted draconian legislation aimed at suppressing public protest.” It also calls for a thorough investigation into the acts of violence.

The report says that only new parliamentary elections can resolve the “political and constitutional crisis” in Georgia. It also condemns attempts to suppress civil society and the newly adopted law on grants, which requires government approval to receive foreign grants, calling on the European Commission to increase support for independent media and NGOs.

Finally, the document regrets that Georgia has not made progress in implementing EU recommendations and notes that the country’s level of compliance with the EU’s common foreign and security policy remains “significantly low.”