Frédèric Petit: On Georgia, Europe cannot show weakness
After more than a month, Georgians are fighting to re-establish the rule of law in their country and to respect the European promise. Faced with a lack of support from the European Union and other European countries, the mass demonstrations have run out of steam, but the desire for free, fair and equitable parliamentary elections remains.
The European Union and all European countries must quickly refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the new Georgian President, appointed by a parliament formed after rigged and manipulated elections. It is also essential for the European Union to put maximum pressure on the official and unofficial leaders of the far-right Georgian Dream party, which is behind the electoral fraud and intense political repression.
We remain aware of the difficulty of these times: we European Democrats know the risk of chaos, or institutional uncertainty, which will always end up favoring autocrats. Democracy needs time and calm. We are not calling for bridges to be cut, nor for aggressive policies on the part of the Union and its member countries towards Georgia, a friendly country whose European destiny is enshrined in its constitution. In particular, we encourage the cultivation of relations between civil societies, local and regional authorities, and youth movements in our countries and in Georgia.
But the European Democratic Party firmly calls on the European Union and its member countries to face facts clearly, and not to betray its values in Georgia. Any further retreat would once again be interpreted as a sign of weakness.
Deputy Secretary General of EDP, Frédéric Petit
