Open letter to President von der Leyen, President Michel and HRVP Borrell

Brussels, Belgium

15 May 2024 (signatures as of 17 May, 10:00)

---

What more should Georgian citizens do, having repeatedly come out to the streets in the hundreds of thousands over the last month, waving European flags and getting beaten up, in an effort to prevent the ruling party from establishing a Belarus-style regime that would enable Russia to regain control over the South Caucasus? 

‘Georgian Dream’ has made its intentions clear: in a paranoid anti-West speech on 29 April, Bidzina Ivanishvili has promised strict punishment for opposition protagonists after October’s elections. The police are responding to peaceful pro-European protests with gradually increasing violence. The ruling party’s thugs are compiling lists of civil society activists,  issuing personalised threats and beating people in front of their homes – all these are well-known steps from a beginner’s guide to building a dictatorship. 

The EU’s pleas to the Georgian government not to miss the historical opportunity of the EU candidate status, are falling on the ears of people for whom a democratic European future is not a priority. The ruling party has made a clear choice to prioritise staying in power forever. It is getting ready to rig October’s parliamentary elections and employ as much violence as needed. The law on ‘foreign influence’, adopted despite massive protests and repeated EU advice, is only one part of the problem.

The HRVP’s and Commission’s statement urging the Georgian authorities to withdraw the law, goes in the right direction. Attempts to amend the law on ‘foreign influence’ into an acceptable version would be futile, naïve and excessively technocratic. The EU Ambassador has already acknowledged that the law would need to become completely different. It is important for the EU institutions to realise the full scale of the problem (the ruling party’s intentions), to draw the lessons of Belarus’ rigged elections of 2020, and to take relevant political action so that Georgia’s foretold disaster could still be averted.

The Commission has clearly been struggling with assuming a political responsibility and playing a political role vis-à-vis a candidate country. Unfortunately, if the ‘Georgian Dream’ gets its way, Russia will have achieved a significant blow to the credibility of EU enlargement policy. The Commission needs to realise that in the enlargement context, it has a responsibility to help uphold democracy and the rule of law in the candidate countries so that the enlargement process does not fall hostage to uncooperative governments and vested interests. Concretely, if EU institutions are serious about ‘speaking the language of power’: 

• Building on the visit of parliamentarians from several EU Member States, some members of the European Council and/or HRVP Borrell should visit Tbilisi still in May and clearly stand with the protesters, affirming the position expressed by the EU through published statements.

• An unambiguous message should be sent that a large-scale pre-election monitoring mission would be organised by the EU as a way to start overcoming Georgia’s political polarisation and returning it to the European path. 
• The European Commission should suspend all direct budget support to Georgia and financing of government-led projects until the ‘foreign influence’ law is dropped and fair elections are held in October. The suspension and the possibility of resuming EU support should be clearly communicated. In parallel, the EU could explore other ways of supporting Georgian society.
• The HRVP and the Commission should heed, at long last, the repeated plea of the European Parliament, and propose targeted financial sanctions and travel bans against the leadership of ‘Georgian Dream’ and their families, unless the ‘foreign influence’ law is dropped and fair elections are held. Imposing sanctions would be an unorthodox step vis-à-vis the ruling party of an EU candidate country, but the EU’s long standing tactic of trying to persuade the ruling party without antagonising it has clearly proven ineffective.

We appeal to you to take concrete political actions now, to stand with Georgia before it is too late.

---

LIST OF SIGNATORIES:

The views and opinions expressed in this letter are those of the signatories and are not intended to reflect the official policy or position of their employers or the organisations of which they are members or otherwise represent.

1. Prof Dr Michael KAEDING, Professor, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
2. Prof Dr Funda TEKIN, Director, Institut für Europäische Politik, Germany
3. Prof. Dr. Frank SCHIMMELFENNIG, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
4. Prof Dr Richard YOUNGS, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Europe, Belgium
5. Mariam KHOTENASHVILI, Executive Director, Trans-European Policy Studies Association, Belgium
6. Dr. Laure DELCOUR, Associate Professor, University Sorbonne-Nouvelle, France and Visiting Professor, College of Europe
7. Prof. Dr. Steven BLOCKMANS, Senior Fellow at CEPS (Brussels) and ICDS (Tallinn)
8. Dr Nicoletta PIROZZI, Head of EU Programme and Institutional Relations Manager, Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), Italy
9. Paul SCHMIDT, Secretary General, Austrian Society for European Politics, Austria
10. Dr Benjamin TALLIS, Senior Fellow, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
11. Prof Dr Artur GRUSZCZAK, Chair of National Security, Jagiellonian University, Poland
12. Dr. Karlis BUKOVSKIS, Associate Professor, Riga Stradins University, Latvia 
13. Dr. Kristi RAIK, Deputy Director and Head of the Foreign Policy Programme of the International Centre for Defence and Security, Tallinn
14. Dr Fabian ZULEEG, Chief Executive, European Policy Centre (EPC)
15. Prof Dr Michele CHANG, Director, College of Europe, Belgium
16. Dr. Yuriy YAKYMENKO, President, The Razumkov Centre, Kyiv, Ukraine
17. Andreas UMLAND, Analyst, Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies, Sweden
18. Prof Ilke TOYGÜR, Director, Global Policy Center, School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs, IE University, Madrid
19. Ian BOND, Deputy Director, The Centre for European Reform, London
20. Prof Erik JONES, Director, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute (EUI)
21. Jean-Louis DE BROUWER, Director of the European Affairs Programme, Egmont Institute
22. Tatjana KUHN, Scientific Associate, Centre international de formation européenne (CIFE)
23. Dr Susann HEINECKE-KUHN, Program Director, Centre international de formation européenne (CIFE)
24. Elena MÜLLER; Academic Assistant, Centre international de formation européenne (CIFE)
25. Dr. Florent MARCIACQ, Senior Fellow, Centre international de formation européenne (CIFE)
26. Dr Gunilla HEROLF, Senior Associate Research Fellow, The Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI), Stockholm, Sweden
27. Amb. Natalie SABANADZE, PhD, Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House
28. Dr. Andrea ÉLTETŐ, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Budapest, Hungary 
29. Iulian GROZA, Executive Director, Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE), Moldova
30. Nona MIKHELIDZE, Senior Fellow, Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), Italy;
31. Dr. Oliver SCHWARZ, Political Scientist, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
32. Prof Roderick PACE, Institute for European Studies, University of Malta 
33. Elene PANCHULIDZE, Associate Fellow at PMC Research Center, Georgia
34. Prof Christian LEQUESNE, professor of political science at Sciences Po, former Director of the Center for International Studies (CERI), Paris, France.
35. Dr. Stefan MEISTER, Head of the Center for Order and Governance in Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), Berlin
36. Anastasia POCIUMBAN, Research Fellow / Project Manager, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), Berlin
37. Dr Luigi SCAZZIERI, Senior Fellow, Centre for European Reform, London.
38. Dr Ricardo Borges de Castro, Visiting Scholar, College of Europe and EPC Senior Adviser
39. Ana ANDGULADZE, PhD researcher, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium
40. Aleksandra PALKOVA, Lecturer at the Riga Stradins University, Riga, Latvia
41. Marko TODOROVIĆ, Researcher, European Policy Centre (CEP), Belgrade, Serbia
42. Prof John O BRENNAN, Jean Monnet Chair, Director of Maynooth Centre for European and Eurasian Studies, Ireland
43. Dr. Tinatin AKHVLEDIANI, Research Fellow, CEPS, Brussels 
44. Dr. Lina STRUPINSKIENE, Associate Professor, Vilnius University, Institute of International Relations and Political Science, Lithuania
45. Prof Dr Natasha WUNSCH, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
46. Prof Monika SUS, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw & Hertie School, Berlin 
47. Sammy SIEGEL, Research Associate, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
48. Dylan Macchiarini CROSSON, Researcher, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Brussels
49. Dr Gergana NOUTCHEVA, Associate Professor, Maastricht University, the Netherlands
50. Prof Rilka DRAGNEVA, Professor of International Legal Studies, Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham, UK
51. Prof. Kataryna WOLCZUK, the European Neighbourhood Policy Chairholder, the College of Europe (Natolin)
52. Dr. Hrvoje BUTKOVIC, Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO), Zagreb, Croatia 
53. Dr. Narin IDRIZ, TMC Asser Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands
54. Dustin GILBREATH, CRRC-Georgia – Non-resident Senior Fellow, International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University – lecturer
55. Prof Ana BOJINOVIĆ FENKO, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences, Slovenia
56. Dr. Jakša PULJIZ, Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO), Zagreb, Croatia 
57. Igor BANDOVIĆ, Director, Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, Belgrade, Serbia.
58. Prof. Dr. Giorgi KHISHTOVANI, Research Director at PMC Research Center, Tbilisi, Georgia
59. Elena VENTURA, Program Assistant, Carnegie Europe, Belgium
60. Ion MANOLE, Executive Director, Promo-LEX Association, Moldova
61. Igor BOTAN, Executive Director, Association for Participatory Democracy ADEPT, Moldova 
62. Adrian LUPUSOR, Executive Director, Independent Analytical Center “Expert-Grup”, Moldova
63. Natalia STERCUL, Executive Director, Foreign Policy Association of the Republic of Moldova (APE)
64. Dr Arcadie BARBAROSIE, Executive Director of the Institute for Public Policy, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
65. Dr Petya DRAGNEVA, University of Dundee, UK
66. Dr Anaïs MARIN, Associate fellow with Russia and Eurasia programme, Chatham House (London), Warsaw
67. Prof. Dr. Nuno GAMA DE OLIVEIRA PINTO, University Professor, Vice President EuroDefense-Portugal
68. Meghan CAMPBELL, Reader in International Human Rights Law, University of Birmingham
69. Olena SNIGYR, Jean Monnet Fellow, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute
70. Giorgio FRUSCIONE, Research Fellow, Balkans Desk, Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI)
71. Christopher A. HARTWELL, Professor of International Business Policy, ZHAW School of Management and Law (Switzerland) and Professor of International Management, Kozminski University (Poland)
72. Senada ŠELO ŠABIĆ, Scientific Advisor, Institute for Development and International Relations, Zagreb, Croatia
73. Hannah BRANDT, Research Associate, Institut für Europäische Politik, Germany
74. Giulia BONACQUISTI, Programme Manager, Trans-European Policy Studies Association, Belgium
75. Sonia CHABANE, Project Manager, Trans-European Policy Studies Association, Belgium
76. Eva RIBERA, Project Manager, Trans-European Policy Studies Association, Belgium
77. Hugh EVANS, Communications Manager, Trans-European Policy Studies Association, Belgium
78. Dominic MAUGEAIS, Senior Project Manager, Institut für Europäische Politik (IEP), Germany
79. Valeriu PAȘA, Executive Director, Watchdog.md Community, Moldova 
80. Ryhor NIZHNIKAU, Senior Researcher, Finnish Institute of International Affairs
81. Dr. Liutauras GUDŽINSKAS, Associate Professor, Vilnius University, Institute of International Relations and Political Science, Lithuania
82. Dr. Elena BARACANI, Associate Professor, University of Bologna, Italy
83. Dr. Matteo BONOMI, Senior Fellow, Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), Rome, Italy 
84. Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Thomas KRUESSMANN, LL.M. (King’s College), Professor of Criminal Law, New Vision University, Tbilisi
85. Panos GREDIS, Representative of European Public Law Organization (EPLO) in Brussels
86. Prof. Dr. Antoaneta DIMITROVA, Professor of Comparative Governance and Head of the Diplomacy and Global Affairs Group, Institute of Security and Global Affairs, Leiden University, The Netherlands
87. Jos BOONSTRA, Senior Researcher, Centre for European Security Studies (CESS), The Netherlands
88. Frauke SEEBASS, Project Manager Western Balkans, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
89. Dr. Kornely KAKACHIA, Jean Monnet Chair, Tbilisi State University, Director, Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP)
90. Dr Vanessa VOISIN, Associate Professor, University of Bologna, Italy 
91. Dr. Paul T. LEVIN, Docent, Director of the Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies, Managing Director of the Consortium for European Symposia on Turkey
92. Prof Dr Jaap W. DE ZWAAN, emeritus professor European Union Law at Erasmus University Rotterdam and former Director of the Netherlands Institute of International Relations in The Hague
93. Prof. Agnieszka CIANCIARA, Head of Department of International Organizations and Global Security Studies, Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences
94. Tony LAWRENCE, Head of Defence Policy and Strategy Programme, ICDS, Tallinn
95. Tanguy BABLED, Program Coordinator, Carnegie Europe
96. Dr. Tomasz PUGACEWICZ, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland
97. Christophe LECLERCQ, Chair of think-do-tank Europe MédiaLab (ex Fondation Euractiv)
98. James NIXEY, Director, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House 
99. Dr. Martin LARYŠ, Deputy Research Director, Institute of International Relations Prague
100. Timothy ASH, Associate Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House
101. Pål Wilter SKEDSMO, Research director, Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway
102. Ignacio MOLINA, Senior Analyst, Elcano Royal Institute, Madrid
103. Dr. Nicolai VON ONDARZA, Head EU/Europe Division, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP)
104. Prof. Dr Danijela JACIMOVIC, University of Montenegro, Faculty of Economics
105. Randall K. FILER, PhD, Professor CUNY and Fellow CESifo (Munich) and IZA (Bonn)
106. Florian BIEBER, Professor for Southeast European Studies & Director of the Centre for Southeast European Studies, University of Graz
107. Alessandra RUSSO, Professor of Political Science and International Relations, University of Trento
108. Dr. Paul WACHTEL, Emeritus Professor of Economics, New York University and Board member of the ISET Policy Institute (Tbilisi)
109. Dr. Jens WOELK, Full Professor in Comparative Constitutional Law (Euregio-Chair), Faculty of Law and School of International Studies, University of Trento
110. Dr. Pernille RIEKER, Research Professor at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs (NUPI) and part time full Professor at Inland University College (INN)
111. Dr. Manuel MÜLLER, Senior Research Fellow, Finnish Institute of International Affairs
112. Romain LE QUINIOU, Managing Director, Euro Creative, France 
113. Indrek KANNIK, Director, International Centre for Defence and Security, Tallinn
114. Anders OLOFSGÅRD, Deputy Director Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics and ISET Policy Institute Board member
115. Severin MEISTER, Senior Advisor, Munich Security Conference; Member of the Board, ISET Policy Institute
116. Prof. Dr. Julija BRSAKOSKA BAZERKOSKA, Ss.Cyril and Methodius University, Law Faculty, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
117. Dr. Alexander HOPPE, Lecturer, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
118. Brigid LAFFAN, Emeritus Professor EUI
119. Prof. Dr. André PEREIRA MATOS, Professor of European Studies, Open University, Portugal
120. Eto BUZIASHVILI, Research Associate, Atlantic Council
121. Karolina BOROŃSKA-HRYNIEWIECKA, Associate Professor, University of Wrocław
122. Dr. Karena AVEDISSIAN, Senior Analyst, Regional Center for Democracy and Security