Communiqués

Joint statement by

• MEP Mounir SATOURI, Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights,

• MEP Nils UŠAKOVS, Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus,

on Mzia Amaglobeli

Brussels, 10 March 2026 - On the occasion of International Women's Day: "As we celebrated the courage and achievements of women worldwide, we also remembered those persecuted for speaking the truth.

Among them is Georgia's first female journalist political prisoner, Mzia Amaglobeli, who remains behind bars for doing her job. Last year, we honoured her courage by awarding the Sakharov Prize to her and to the imprisoned Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut.

We reiterate our solidarity with them, calling for justice and their immediate release. Amaglobeli's reports of humiliating treatment while in detention must be investigated. We stand firmly with all women who defend truth and freedom."

Joint statement by

• MEP Mounir SATOURI, Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights,

• MEP Nils UŠAKOVS, Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus,

• MEP Miriam LEXMANN, Committee on Foreign Affairs' Standing Rapporteur on Armenia,

• MEP Dan BARNA, Committee on Foreign Affairs' Standing Rapporteur on Azerbaijan,

on the sentencing of Armenian detainees by Azerbaijan

Strasbourg, 10 February 2026 - "On Thursday 5 February, the Baku Military Court handed down long prison sentences to 15 Armenian defendants, out of the 19 Armenian detainees still held in Azerbaijan and arrested in the context of the former Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We deeply regret this ruling, which includes five life imprisonment sentences.

Last year, the Azerbaijani leadership took significant steps towards peace and reconciliation with Armenia, signing the Washington Declaration, initialling the text of the peace agreement, and allowing - for the first time in decades - the transit of cargo from its territory into Armenia. In January 2026, it released four Armenians serving prison sentences in Azerbaijan after being arrested in 2020 and 2023.

Only last week, the President of Azerbaijan, together with the Prime Minister of Armenia, were awarded the 2026 Zayed Award for Human Fraternity 'in recognition of their consistent efforts to promote peace'. In this spirit, we appeal on the Azerbaijani authorities to build further on the current positive momentum and release all Armenian detainees in Azerbaijan's custody. Their release would represent a significant goodwill gesture and another major step towards lasting peace in the South Caucasus."

Joint statement by

• the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), MEP David McALLISTER,

• the Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights, MEP Mounir SATOURI,

• the Chair of the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, MEP Sergey LAGODINSKY,

• the Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus, MEP Nils UŠAKOVS,

• the AFET Standing Rapporteur on Georgia, MEP Rasa JUKNEVIČIENĖ,

on the local elections in Georgia

Strasbourg, 7 October 2025 - "Georgia's local elections of 4 October 2025 took place in a restrictive environment, in the context of a months-long crackdown on civil society, independent media and political opposition by the self-appointed Georgian Dream authorities. We deplore the fact that the authorities effectively prevented the presence of credible election observers, with a late invitation to the OSCE/ODIHR and restrictions on civil society hampering observation by domestic organisations.

We are concerned by the violent clashes in the streets following the elections and call for calm from all. We urge the Georgian Dream to stop its assault on democracy and respect the fundamental rights of freedom of assembly and expression, stop the arrests of protesters and release those arbitrarily detained. We also deplore the increasingly aggressive campaign against the EU, including personal attacks on the EU and Member State ambassadors, European politicians and individual Member States.

We strongly denounce the Georgian Dream's declared intention to ban opposition parties, which would mark a new culmination of Georgia's slide towards an authoritarian regime. We reiterate our call on the EU and its Member States to take immediate action and to introduce personal sanctions against key Georgian Dream political leaders and officials responsible for democratic backsliding, electoral fraud, human rights violations and the persecution of political opponents and activists, in particular Bidzina Ivanishvili and Irakli Kobakhidze."

Joint statement by

• the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), MEP David McALLISTER,

• the Chair of the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, MEP Sergey LAGODINSKY,

• the Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus, MEP Nils UŠAKOVS,

• the AFET Standing Rapporteur on Armenia, MEP Miriam LEXMANN,

• the AFET Standing Rapporteur on Azerbaijan, MEP Dan BARNA,

on the significant progress in the process of normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan achieved at the leaders' meeting in Washington, DC, on 8 August 2025

Brussels, 11 August 2025 - "We strongly welcome the results of the meeting of the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, hosted by the United States in Washington, DC, on 8 August 2025, and in particular the initialling of the text of the Agreement on Establishment of Peace and Inter-State Relations as agreed by the parties in March of this year, and the Joint Declaration of both countries' leaders outlining further steps towards lasting peace.

We commend the determination of the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to end their decades-long conflict, as well as the significant contribution of the United States to reaching this positive outcome, building on the last years' negotiations, including those facilitated by the EU. It is important that the process continues with the signing and ratification of the initialled peace treaty as soon as possible.

The political agreement on the opening of communications between the two countries for intra-state, bilateral, and international transportation based on the respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and jurisdiction of the states, as announced in the leaders' joint declaration, represents a major breakthrough. We note Armenia's intention to work with the United States and mutually determined third parties on the development and management of the route through southern Armenia and welcome the US' intent to provide investment. We also stress the importance of reciprocal benefits for international and intra-state connectivity for the Republic of Armenia as agreed by the leaders. Once implemented, this crucial connectivity project would unlock the immense potential of the South Caucasus to become a hub of trade and economic prosperity for the benefit of all nations in the region.

The constructive engagement of Türkiye will be indispensable for reaching the full potential of this advancement. We encourage the government of Türkiye to support these positive developments by reciprocating Armenia's readiness to normalise relations and open the Armenian-Turkish border in the interest of both countries and far beyond.

We also welcome the leaders' unequivocal commitment to the Charter of the United Nations and the 1991 Almaty Declaration, as well as to the principles of inviolability of international borders and inadmissibility of the use of force for the acquisition of territory. We trust that this will lead to further progress in the border delimitation process and the full withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from the territory of the Republic of Armenia in the near future. We also note the need to resolve the outstanding issues of Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan and displaced Karabakh Armenians.

The EU has been actively engaged to support stability and prosperity in the South Caucasus and stands ready to further contribute to bringing the normalisation process forward. This process is also crucial in the context of Armenia's efforts at diversification of economic and security relations and its declared European aspirations which the European Parliament fully supports."

Joint statement by

• the Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights, MEP Mounir SATOURI,

• the Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus, MEP Nils UŠAKOVS,

• the European Parliament's Standing Rapporteur on Azerbaijan, MEP Dan BARNA,

on the harsh prison sentences for journalists, researchers and activists in politically motivated cases in Azerbaijan

Brussels, 25 June 2025 - "We are appalled at the shockingly harsh prison sentences in politically motivated cases in Azerbaijan given to journalists, researchers and activists over the last days. None of them or the other political prisoners in the country should have been prosecuted in the first place. But the extraordinarily heavy sentences mark yet another escalation in the relentless repression of regime critics in Azerbaijan.

On 23 June 2025, Bahruz Samadov, researcher at the Charles University in Prague and activist advocating for peace with Armenia, arrested in August 2024, was sentenced to 15 years on flimsy charges of treason, after going on a hunger strike and reportedly attempting suicide a few days earlier.

On 20 June 2025, independent news outlet Abzas Media collaborators including its director Ulvi Hasanli, editor-in-chief Sevinj Abbasova Vagifgizi, journalists Hafiz Babali, Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova, coordinator and activist Mahammad Kekalov, as well as RFE/RL journalist Farid Mehralizada were all given sentences ranging from seven and a half to nine years, based on trumped-up charges of smuggling foreign currency and money laundering. The arrests of the Abzas Media team in November 2023 marked the beginning of the current wave of repression, while Farid Mehralizada was detained in May 2024.

We recall that just a few weeks ago, Talysh minority historian Igbal Abilov, the editor-in-chief of the Talysh National Academy News magazine, was sentenced to 18 years in prison on treason charges, while opposition activist Tofig Yagublu was sentenced to 9 years in a sham trial in March 2025. These are just some cases out of the staggering number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan which has grown rapidly to almost 400 over the last couple of years.

Joint statement by

• the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, MEP David McALLISTER

• the Chair of the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, MEP Sergey LAGODINSKY

• the Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus, MEP Nils UŠAKOVS

• the Standing Rapporteur for Georgia, MEP Rasa JUKNEVIČIENĖ

We express our profound concern regarding the new wave of repression targeting opposition leaders, civil society organisations, independent broadcasters and protestors in Georgia. We strongly condemn the sentencing of four members of the opposition, Mamuka Khazaradze, Badri Japaridze from Lelo-Strong Georgia, Zurab Japaridze of the Coalition for Change and Giorgi Vashadze from Strategy Aghmashenebeli party for defying summons from a Georgian Dream parliamentary commission. Their sentencing and barring them from holding public office for two years for refusing to cooperate with a politically motivated commission is a blatant attack on democracy, aiming to silence and intimidate opposition voices.

This move is a clear example of the Georgian Dream's attempts to consolidate power and suppress any form of opposition. It casts further doubts about the overall election environment in the country, raising our concerns regarding the upcoming municipal elections. We stand in solidarity with the opposition leaders, civil society organisations, independent broadcasters, and protestors who are being targeted by this new wave of repression. We call for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Georgia.

We urge the EU and its Member States to take immediate action and to introduce personal sanctions against those who are responsible for the democratic backsliding, in particular Bidzina Ivanishvili and Irakli Kobakhidze. We reiterate our call for early parliamentary elections to be held in an improved election environment, managed by an independent and impartial election administration, with widespread international observation, to ensure a genuinely free, fair, and transparent process that represents the will of the people of Georgia.

Joint statement by the Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus,

MEP Nils UŠAKOVS, and the European Parliament's Standing Rapporteur on Armenia, MEP Miriam LEXMANN,

on the adoption by the National Assembly of Armenia of the law on the initiation of the process of accession of Armenia to the European Union

Brussels, 26 March 2025 - "Today's adoption at second and final reading by the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia of the law, proposed by a citizens' initiative, by which it declares the initiation of the process of accession of Armenia to the EU, marks another significant step in the already very strong EU-Armenia relations. We take note of this decision and welcome it as another clear expression of Armenia's steadfast commitment to our shared values and the country's democratic path.

Pursuant to Article 49 of the Treaty of European Union, any European state may apply to become a member of the EU provided that it adheres to the Copenhagen criteria and the principles of democracy, respects fundamental freedoms and human and minority rights and upholds the rule of law. We note the Armenian government's intention to discuss a possible roadmap with the EU and consult the population in a referendum in the future. We recall that EU accession is a complex, long-term and merit-based process and stand ready to continue supporting Armenia in its reform efforts, as well as in ensuring its resilience, based in particular on the existing EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement and the upcoming ambitious Partnership Agenda. We encourage the Commission, the High Representative/Vice-President and the Council to actively support Armenia's desire for increased cooperation with the EU in all dimensions and its European aspirations."

Joint statement by

• the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, MEP David McALLISTER,

• the Chair of the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, MEP Sergey LAGODINSKY,

• the Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus, MEP Nils UŠAKOVS,

• the European Parliament's Standing Rapporteur on Armenia, MEP Miriam LEXMANN,

• the European Parliament's Standing Rapporteur on Azerbaijan, MEP Dan BARNA,

on the conclusion of negotiations on the draft Peace Agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Brussels, 18 March 2025 - "We welcome the successful conclusion of negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the full text of the draft Agreement on Peace and Establishment of Interstate Relations.

The government of Armenia deserves credit for this significant development, following its announcement that it accepts Azerbaijan's proposals on the last two unresolved articles and its declaration of readiness to sign the agreement as soon as possible. We trust that the Azerbaijani leadership will seize this historic occasion to end decades of conflict and build a prosperous South Caucasus by signing and implementing the Peace Agreement as concluded in the negotiations.

We also encourage further progress in the border delimitation process, and on opening the regional communications on the basis of sovereignty and jurisdiction of either country, reciprocity and equality, as a key measure to unblock regional development, enhance connectivity and foster sustainable peace and prosperity, as well as facilitate reconciliation among communities based on increased people-to-people contacts.

In the same spirit, we also trust that the government of Türkiye will seize the opportunity to support the current positive developments in the region and reciprocate Armenia's readiness to open the Armenian-Turkish border for the benefit of its own citizens and the entire South Caucasus."

Joint statement by

• the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, MEP David McALLISTER

• the Chair of the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, MEP Sergey LAGODINSKY

• the Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus, MEP Nils UŠAKOVS

• the Standing Rapporteur for Georgia, MEP Rasa JUKNEVIČIENĖ and

• the Chair of the EP Election Observation Mission for the 2024 parliamentary elections in Georgia, MEP Antonio LÓPEZ-ISTÚRIZ WHITE

We express our profound concern regarding the further deterioration of the political situation in Georgia. We are shocked by the news that former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia was violently assaulted in a Batumi hotel and afterwards treated in hospital. This is yet another example of the escalating violence orchestrated by the Georgian Dream and its allies against peaceful protesters and dissidents.

We stand with the peaceful protesters who for 50 days have been demonstrating every evening in the streets of Georgia for a democratic and Euro-Atlantic future of their country. Georgia was for many years a champion of Euro-Atlantic aspirations with an overwhelming support of the people for this choice. That has not changed. What has changed is that the Georgian Dream has denied Georgians their future and does not even pretend anymore that they want a European democracy for Georgia.

The deteriorating situation in Georgia should not stay without a response. We stand by the position that currently President Salome Zourabichvili is the only clearly legitimate representative of the will of the Georgian people. We do not recognise the results of the parliamentary elections on 26 October 2024, as they were fraudulent and did not respect international standards for democratic elections. We do not recognise any decisions taken by this body. We strongly encourage the EU and its Member States to introduce personal sanctions against all those who are responsible for the democratic backsliding, in particular Bidzina Ivanishvili and Irakli Kobakhidze.

Joint statement by

· the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, MEP David McALLISTER and

· the Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus, MEP Nils UŠAKOVS

· the Standing Rapporteur for Georgia, MEP Rasa JUKNEVIČIENĖ

· the Chair of the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, MEP Sergey LAGODINSKY

Brussels 5 of December „We condemn the escalating repressions by the Georgian authorities against the democratic opposition and excessive use of force against peaceful protesters. Arrests of opponents and searches of offices are part of the toolbox of authoritarian regimes and have no place in a country with EU membership aspirations. Georgian Dream is directly responsible for the continuous democratic backsliding and the dramatic shift of the country away from its European path, contrary to the will of the vast majority of the people. Ongoing protests across the country are a legitimate expression of the widespread concern about the future of Georgia under the current leadership.

We call on the EU and its member states to introduce personal sanctions against all those political leaders of the Georgian Dream who are responsible for the reported election irregularities and subsequent repressions against Georgian citizens protesting on the streets. Furthermore, we recall our demand to introduce targeted sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is the person ultimately politically responsible for the wave of repressions and the suspension of the European integration process. Georgia needs a re-run of the rigged elections, which would be conducted in an improved electoral environment by an independent and impartial election administration, under diligent international observation, ensuring a genuinely fair and transparent process.