It’s a little reminder for the powers that be in Tbilisi. On Thursday, November 7, the French, German and Polish leaders solemnly called on the Georgian authorities to “conduct transparent investigations quickly” on the “numerous irregularities” reported during the legislative elections of October 26, the results of which the pro-European opposition denounces.
“If Georgia does not change course by demonstrating concrete reform efforts (…)we will not be able to support the opening of accession negotiations to the European Union [UE] with this country »warn the French President, Emmanuel Macron, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, in a joint statement. On October 30, the European Commission recommended not resuming accession talks with Georgia, a candidate for the EU since December 2023. The process was frozen in June after the adoption of repressive laws against the company. civil society and the LGBT community.
The declaration of the three leaders echoes that of the EU, which, the day after the election, also called for the opening of an independent investigation to shed light on these irregularities. “They need to be clarified and addressed. This is a necessary step to restore confidence in the electoral process,” declared the EU.
However, it does not intend to go further, in particular to pronounce on the legitimacy of the election. Georgia will be on the agenda of the Council of Foreign Ministers on November 18, but Brussels is waiting “ until then the responses from the Georgian public authorities ». “The European Union must have a clear position on the recognition of election resultsassures Amanda Paul, of the European Politics Center in Brussels. However, having a common position will be complicated, because unanimity is required. And given the position of Viktor Orban [le premier ministre hongrois]I am not sure that an agreement can be found at twenty-seven. »
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Once again, member states are divided. Hungary is an obstacle, Viktor Orban making no secret of the ideological proximity that links him to the leaders of Georgian Dream, the pro-Russian and authoritarian party in power since 2012. The day after the election, he rushed to Tbilisi to congratulate his Georgian counterpart, Irakli Kobakhidze, to whom he is close.
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Source: Lemonde