MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Georgia
17.10.2012 - (2012/2816(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Ulrike Lunacek, Werner Schulz, Raül Romeva i Rueda, Indrek Tarand, Nicole Kiil-Nielsen on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0467/2012
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Georgia, in particular its resolution of 17 November 2011 containing the European Parliament’ recommendations to the Council, the Commission and the EEAS on the negotiations of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement,
– having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between the European Union and Georgia, which entered into force in 1999,
– having regard to the Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions of the International Election Observation of Georgia’s Parliamentary Elections issued on 2 October 2012,
– having regard to the joint statement by the High Representative Catherine Ashton and Commissioner Stefan Fule following the announcement of the results of Georgia’s parliamentary elections,
– having regard to the conclusions of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting of 15 October 2012,
– having regard to the communication from the Commission ‘Taking stock of the European Neighbourhood Policy’ of 12 May 2011,
– having regard to the Progress report on the Implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy in Georgia issued on 15 May 2012,
– having regard to the Joint Declaration of the Eastern Partnership summit held in Warsaw on 29/30 September 2011,
– having regard to the joint statement of the Eastern Partnership Foreign Ministers’ meeting of 23 July 2012,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas over the last years the Euro-Atlantic integration has been the top priority in the Georgian political agenda and one of the main aspirations of the Georgian society; whereas a stable, democratic and fully sovereign Georgia that respects the principles of the rule of law, human rights, the protection of minorities, a social market economy and that guarantees fundamental rights is in the interests of both the EU and the Georgian people;
B. whereas Georgia is one of the founding members of the Eastern Partnership; whereas at the Warsaw Summit of 20/30 September 2011 the EU and Eastern European leaders reaffirmed that the Eastern Partnership is based on a community of values and principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law;
C. whereas on 1 October the Georgian people were called to renew the parliament of the country in a tense and highly polarised political climate marred during the electoral campaign by allegations of misconduct, deep distrust between the parties, acts of intimidation and some violent incidents;
D. whereas voting procedures on the election day were conducted in a peaceful and calm manner all over the country with a good turnout of the population; whereas an unprecedented number of foreign and Georgian election monitors covered most of Georgia’s electoral precincts;
E. whereas according to the preliminary conclusions of the International Election Observation these parliamentary elections marked an important step in consolidating the conduct of democratic elections in line with OSCE and Council of Europe commitments;
F. whereas some key issues of the Election Code still remain to be addressed with regard, in particular, to important previous recommendations by the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission such as the disparity of the population size among single mandate constituencies;
G. whereas opposition forces raised strong criticism of the State Audit Office that was accused to fail to apply the norms of the election laws in a transparent impartial and coherent way;
H. whereas the Central Election Commission ruled to hold repeat elections in seven precincts of three single-mandate constituencies on 14 October;
I. whereas the Georgian Dream coalition that gained the majority of the votes will have to rule the country in cohabitation with President Saakashvili;
J. whereas the broadcast of video footages showing the torture of inmates in Georgian prisons caused widespread outcry and revealed serious misconduct in government agencies responsible for law and order; whereas two ministers resigned because of this scandal;
K. whereas the Georgian breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia are still de facto occupied by Russia Armed Forces; whereas despite the six-point ceasefire agreement signed in 2008 by the Russian Federation and Georgia the access of the EU Monitoring Mission to South Ossetia and Abkhazia is still hindered;
1. Welcomes the overall calm and orderly conduct of the parliamentary elections that represented a further step forward in the consolidation of democratic institutions in Georgia in spite of some shortfalls highlighted by the International Election Observation mission;
2. Expects a smooth and peaceful transfer of power to the leaders of the Georgian Dream coalition in line with the result of the elections and in compliance with the Constitution of Georgia;
3. Stresses the importance of a correct and constructive cohabitation between President Saakashvili and the future new government with a view to fully serving the interests of the whole country;
4. Welcomes, in this respect, the beginning of talks between the representatives of the former majority and the leaders of the Georgian Dream coalition and encourages the parties to engage in a fruitful national dialogue aimed at addressing the main problems of the country and the reforms that need to be undertaken;
5. Expects the new leadership to confirm the European choice of the previous government and welcomes, in this regard, the first statements of the leader of the ‘Georgian Dream’ coalition Bidzina Ivanishvili;
6. Calls on Georgian authorities to fully address all the shortfalls identified by the International Election Observation including the recommendations by the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission concerning the Election Code;
7. Stresses the importance of a fully independent and impartial judiciary and calls on the new parliament to adopt the necessary measures in order to prevent any misgiving or misconduct of the judicial authorities;
8. Takes note of the decision of the Supreme Court of Georgia to accept the lawsuit of the leader of the ‘Georgian Dream’ coalition Bidzina Ivanishvili, demanding the reinstatement of citizenship and urges the Court to rule in due time on this matter in order to remove all eventual constitutional obstacles to the taking office of the new government;
9. Stresses the importance for a fully functioning democracy of the adoption and the implementation of a stringent and effective law on party financing as well as a law on potential and actual conflicts of interest in order to draw a clear line of separation between private and public interests for persons holding public office;
10. Urges the Georgian authorities to investigate and prosecute all the cases of ill-treatment and torture in the Georgian prisons and calls for a deep and effective reform of the penitentiary system; welcomes the decision of the prison minister in Georgia to put together a monitoring group to let human rights activists and the media into facilities to check the conditions;
11. Takes the view that the democratic change that took place in Georgia provides the opportunity for the resumption of an open, frank and unconditional dialogue between Georgia and the Russian Federation based on the development of good neighbourly relations, the full sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the two countries;
12. Calls, in this regard, on Russia to withdraw its troops from the Georgian breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and to allow the unfettered access of the EUMM to these two provinces;
13. Regrets the slow pace of negotiations and the absence of any substantial progress between the two parties at the Geneva Discussions on Security and Stability in the South Caucasus and calls for a stronger engagement with a view to complying in full with all the six points of the ceasefire agreement of September 2008;
14. Looks forward to the conclusion of the negotiations of the new Association Agreement between the EU and Georgia in line with the European aspiration of the country and stresses the importance of Georgia’s European integration process for the pursuance of economic, social and political reforms; welcomes the EU commitment to the objective of visa-free travel and expects the parties to make substantial progress in this respect;
15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the EEAS, the Member States, the President, Government and Parliament of Georgia and the Parliamentary Assemblies of the Council Europe and the OSCE.