What changed between the resolution motion and the resolution motion joint

Added:2. Strongly condemns the numerous and serious electoral violations, including documented cases of intimidation, vote manipulation, ballot-stuffing, interference with election observers and the media, reported manipulation involving electronic voting machines that allowed multiple votes per identity document, significant imbalances in financial resources, the advantages of incumbency and a failure to investigate severe procedural irregularities;

Removed:3. Calls on the Georgian authorities to demonstrate their commitment to European values, beginning with ensuring full transparency in the electoral process; emphasises that violations of electoral integrity are incompatible with the standards expected from an EU candidate country;

Added:3. Considers that the reported extensive electoral fraud undermines the integrity of the election process, the legitimacy of the results and the public’s trust in any new government, and that the results do not serve as a reliable representation of the will of the Georgian people;

Removed:4. Deplores Russia’s interference in democratic processes in Georgia and its divisive election rhetoric and propaganda, including the ‘Global War Party’ conspiracy theory used by the ruling Georgian Dream party, which closely resembles the methods and narratives of Russian propaganda; calls on the Georgian authorities to ensure fact-based information and communication and to build the resilience of Georgian society to Russian disinformation and propaganda;

Added:4. Acknowledges Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili’s strong condemnation of the elections as rigged and her decision not to recognise the results; appreciates the efforts made by Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili to steer the country back towards a democratic and European path of development;

Removed:5. Stands in solidarity with the courageous Georgian people fighting for their democratic rights and the European future of their country, and reaffirms its support for their democratic and European aspirations; reiterates its unwavering support for all those who, in the face of verbal attacks, physical threats and legal persecution by the ruling party, advocate for and defend democracy and human rights, work for a peaceful society and are committed to equality and human dignity for all; urges the Georgian authorities to guarantee the right of citizens to assemble and to refrain from using force against them;

Added:5. Considers that, with the legitimacy of the vote severely undermined by the magnitude of the violations, the international community should not recognise the election results; rejects, therefore, any recognition of the parliamentary elections and calls for them to be re-run within a year, with the process conducted in an improved electoral environment by an independent and impartial election administration, under diligent international observation, in order to ensure a genuinely fair and transparent electoral process;

Removed:6. Urges the Georgian authorities to uphold their commitment to the promotion of democracy, the rule of law and human rights and encourages them to adopt and implement reforms in line with Georgia’s stated objective of joining the European Union, as demanded by a large majority of Georgia’s citizens;

Added:6. Supports the call for an independent, transparent international investigation into the allegations of electoral manipulation, voter intimidation and systemic violations, which were reported to have taken place in the pre-election period and on election day;

Removed:7. Appreciates the efforts made by Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili to steer the country back towards a democratic and European path of development;

Added:7. Welcomes the decision by the European External Action Service (EEAS) to send a technical mission to Georgia; calls on the EEAS and the Commission to establish a broad mission mandate that would go beyond the limitations of the OSCE election observation framework and methodology, which is significantly different from the EU election observation methodology, because the OSCE methodology is not always capable of adequately capturing everything that occurs in a country before election day, particularly in countries such as Georgia where there is a well-established system of pressure on public officials, voter intimidation and obstruction of local election observers;

Removed:8. Reiterates its call on Georgian decision-makers to cease all attacks on civil society, independent media and the LGBTIQ community and to ensure a genuinely enabling environment for civil society and media in the country; notes that civil society organisations targeted by ‘transparency of foreign influence’ legislation are looking into possibilities to register in the EU Member Sates, as numerous Belarusian civil society organisations have done; calls for the EU and its Member States to guarantee their full support for Georgian civil society and the independent media in this difficult period and to analyse the potential increase in migration from Georgia to the EU if politically motivated persecutions and attacks on fundamental freedoms continue;

Added:8. Expresses concern about the seizure by the Prosecutor’s Office of voter verification devices and election documentation; calls on the authorities to allow verification by voters of their participation in the elections in accordance with the highest standards of data protection; underlines the importance of safeguarding all election-related data and making these accessible to relevant stakeholders, given that they could contain key evidence of any irregularities;

Removed:9. Reiterates its strong condemnation of the adoption of the ‘transparency of foreign influence’ law and the ‘family values and protection of minors’ legislation by the Georgian Dream majority; calls again for the immediate withdrawal of these pieces of legislation;

Added:9. Expresses serious concern about the coordinated dismissal by Georgian judicial institutions of numerous election fraud and manipulation complaints and the CEC’s complete failure to investigate any of the reported election incidents; considers that, by not responding to the genuine concerns within society and the reports by local and international observers, the Georgian authorities are wilfully steering the country to the verge of a domestic political crisis and a state of international isolation from Georgia’s democratic partners;

Removed:10. Takes note of the coordinated dismissal of numerous election-related complaints by Georgian judicial institutions, particularly regarding large-scale breaches of voter secrecy; takes note of concerns raised by reputable Georgian watchdogs over state capture in the judiciary by a clan linked to Bidzina Ivanishvili, as well as of the US sanctions against four senior Georgian judges for ‘significant corruption’; regrets the failure of long-standing EU assistance projects intended to strengthen the independence, impartiality and accountability of the Georgian judiciary;

Added:10. Expresses deep concern at the significant decline in female political representation in Georgia, compounded by the abolition of gender quotas, and calls for legislative changes to encourage gender equality in politics;

Removed:11. Calls on the Council, the Commission, the European External Action Service and the new Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to conduct a comprehensive review and overhaul of EU policy towards Georgia; highlights the fact that the approach of accommodating Bidzina Ivanishvili and his regime has proven ineffective;

Added:11. Calls for the EU and its Member States to impose personal sanctions on the officials and political leaders in Georgia who are responsible for the democratic backsliding, violations of electoral laws and standards, administrative abuses and misuse of state institutions, such as Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Mayor of Tbilisi and Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party Kakha Kaladze, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili, and chairman of the Georgian Dream party Irakli Garibashvili, and to extend these sanctions to judges passing politically-motivated sentences; reiterates its call on the Council and the EU’s democratic partners to impose immediate and targeted personal sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili and to freeze all his assets within the EU for his role in the deterioration of the political process in Georgia and for acting against the country’s constitutionally declared interests, including efforts to restore Russia’s sphere of influence over the country;

Removed:12. Calls for EU funding provided to the Georgian Government to be frozen until the election-related violations are properly addressed and the recently adopted illiberal pieces of legislation are repealed, and for strict conditions to be applied to the disbursement of any future funding; reiterates its calls on the Commission to assess the impact of Georgia’s ‘foreign agent’ and ‘family values’ legislation on the country’s continuous fulfilment of the visa liberalisation benchmarks, particularly the fundamental rights benchmark, a crucial component of the EU visa liberalisation policy;

Added:12. Emphasises that respect for fundamental rights is vital to the EU’s visa liberalisation benchmarks and urges the Commission and the Council to review Georgia’s visa-free status, with the possibility of suspension if it is considered that EU standards on democratic governance and freedoms are not being upheld;

Removed:13. Calls for the EU and its Member States to impose sanctions on Georgian political leaders and officials responsible for the country’s democratic backsliding and violations of the electoral process, including those responsible for the organisation and administration of the elections, and the officials of the Ministry of Interior and its subordinate institutions responsible for using violence against peaceful protesters; calls, in this context, on the Council to consider imposing personal sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Kakha Kaladze, mayor of Tbilisi and Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, for their role in the significant deterioration of democracy in Georgia;

Added:13. Calls for the EU to severely limit formal EU-level contacts with the Georgian Government and Parliament;

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Changed:14. Condemns Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán’sViktor prematureOrbán’s visit to GeorgiaGeorgia, aswhich yetwas a violation of EU positions and another attempt to undermine the EU’s common foreign and security policy; emphasises that, once again, Prime Minister Orbán did not speak for the EU;

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Removed:15. Strongly reiterates its urgent demand for the immediate and unconditional release of former President Mikheil Saakashvili on humanitarian grounds for the purpose of seeking medical treatment abroad;

Added:15. Recalls that as a result of the adoption of new anti-democratic legislation, such as the ‘law on transparency of foreign influence’ and the ‘law on family values and protection of minors’, the process of Georgia’s integration into the EU has effectively been suspended; recalls that the EU has also frozen the allocation of funds to Georgia; underscores that the continuing democratic backsliding in Georgia is not only a regrettable development, considering that Georgia was once a champion of Euro-Atlantic aspirations, but also needs to be reversed and the said pieces of anti-democratic legislation repealed in order for the country’s relations with the EU to get back on track; regrets that the political environment in Georgia indicates an authoritarian shift by the ruling party and a betrayal of the pro-European aspirations of the Georgian people; recalls its steadfast support for Georgia’s democratic development and the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of its people; reminds the Georgian Government that a large majority of the population strongly supports the country’s pro-Western course and its accession to the EU;

Removed:16. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the President, Government and Parliament of Georgia.

Added:16. Is alarmed by the climate of intimidation and polarisation fuelled by statements by Georgian Government representatives and political leaders, as well as by attacks against political pluralism, including through threats to ban opposition parties, to arrest their leaders and even ordinary supporters, and to silence dissent; warns the Georgian authorities that any attempts to ban legally established political parties would alienate Georgia from the EU and make any move towards EU accession impossible;

Added:17. Strongly condemns Russia’s systematic interference in democratic processes within Georgia, including through voter intimidation, vote buying and disinformation, such as the ‘Global War Party’ conspiracy; deplores the disinformation narratives disseminated and amplified by ruling party officials and government-affiliated media in the run-up to the elections; calls on the Georgian authorities to ensure fact-based information and communication, to refrain from anti-EU propaganda that is at odds with the stated goal of EU accession, and to strengthen the resilience of Georgian society to Russian disinformation and propaganda;)

Added:18. Recalls that the European Council granted Georgia candidate country status at its summit of 14 and 15 December 2023 on the understanding that the relevant steps set out in the Commission recommendation of 8 November 2023 would be taken; stresses that the recent parliamentary elections clearly run counter to this ambition; agrees with the assessment presented in the Commission’s 2024 Enlargement Package, which states that Georgia’s EU accession process is to be halted indefinitely as a result of the democratic backsliding initiated by the Georgian Government; underlines that the policies implemented by Georgian Dream are incompatible with Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration;

Added:19. Reiterates its unwavering support for the Georgian people’s legitimate European aspirations and their wish to live in a prosperous and democratic country, free from corruption, that fully respects fundamental freedoms, protects human rights and guarantees an open society, independent media and free and fair elections; urges the Georgian authorities to guarantee the right of citizens to assemble and to refrain from using unwarranted force against them;

Added:20. Calls on the Council, the Commission, the EEAS and the new VP/HR to conduct a comprehensive review and overhaul of EU policy towards Georgia; calls on the Commission to use the frozen EUR 120 million originally intended as support for the Georgian authorities to enhance the EU’s support for Georgia’s civil society, in particular the non-governmental sector and independent media, which are increasingly coming under undue pressure from the ruling political party and the authorities, as well as to support programmes supporting democratic resilience and electoral integrity; welcomes the proposal of VP/HR Borrell to do so; calls for the EU’s funding mechanisms to be adjusted to take into account the needs that arise in a more hostile and anti-democratic environment;

Added:21. Strongly reiterates its urgent demand for the immediate release of former President Mikheil Saakashvili on humanitarian grounds; emphasises that the Georgian Government bears full and undeniable responsibility for the life, health, safety and well-being of former President Mikheil Saakashvili and must be held fully accountable for any harm that befalls him;

Added:22. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the President, Government and Parliament of Georgia.