Open letter to the German government – Georgia needs our support now!

EU accession, which is supported by most of the population, has shaped Georgian politics since indepen­dence. According to Article 78 of the consti­tution, all state bodies are obliged to ensure full EU and NATO integration. Prime Minister Kobakhidze committed a consti­tu­tional breach when he announced that negoti­a­tions on accession to the European Union would be suspended with immediate effect.

The parlia­mentary elections on October 26, 2024, were massively manip­u­lated. The reports of the inter­na­tional election obser­vation missions point to vote buying, intim­i­dation, violation of the secrecy of vote and numerous other irreg­u­lar­ities. The report of the Parlia­mentary Assembly of the Council of Europe doubts that the recent elections reflect the will of the voters. The European Parliament has already called for new elections.

Since the beginning of the protests, the author­ities have responded with excessive violence. Local and inter­na­tional human rights organi­za­tions have documented numerous cases of inhumane treatment of detainees and dispro­por­tionate use of force against peaceful protesters. Instead of having the rights of citizens protected, they are being system­at­i­cally violated. In the face of these events, the Social Democ­ratic, Christian Democ­ratic and Liberal groups in the Parlia­mentary Assembly of the Council of Europe issued a decla­ration on December 2 calling for:

• new elections, that will take place without pressure and under free and fair conditions
• An immediate end to violence and the indis­crim­inate detention of protesters
• The consistent intro­duction of sanctions by European states against repre­sen­ta­tives of the ruling “Georgian Dream” party, including entry bans and asset freezes
• An immediate release of the detained protesters
• Respecting the mandate of Georgia’s incumbent president until fair and free new elections are held.

We call on the German government to adopt these demands as its own and to work for their realization. 

Georgia needs Europe now to defend its indepen­dence and freedom. And Europe must now stand up for Georgia to defend its values and interests.

First signa­tories:

Dr Zaal Andronikashvili, Research Associate, Leibniz-Zentrum für Literatur- und Kulturforschung,

Marieluise Beck, Senior Fellow, Zentrum Liberale Moderne

Prof. Dr. Jan C. Behrends, Historian, European University Viadrina and ZZF Potsdam

Prof. Dr. Christine Blaettler, Phihlo­sophical Seminar, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel

Prof. Dr. Tanja Börzel, Director of the Cluster of Excel­lence ‘SCRIPTS’

Michael Brand, Member of the German Bundestag, Human Rights Spokesperson for the CDU/​CSU Parlia­mentary Group

Helmut Brand­stätter, MEP, Renew Europe, Committee on Foreign Affairs

Prof. Dr. Miriam Finkel­stein, Department of Liter­ature, Art and Media Studies, Slavic Studies, University of Konstanz

Dr Jörg Forbrig, Programme Director, German Marshall Fund of the United States in Berlin

Prof. Dr. Susanne Frank, Humboldt University Berlin

Ralf Fücks, Managing Partner, Zentrum Liberale Moderne

Prof. Dr. Andrea Gawrich, Professor of Political Science/​International Integration, Justus Liebig University Giessen

Oliver Geheeb, Head of Public Relations, Zentrum Liberale Moderne

Anikó Glogowski-Merten, Member of the German Bundestag and Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, FDP

Theocharis N. Grigo­riadis, Professor of Economics, Free University Berlin

Prof. Dr. Hans Gutbrod, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia

Thomas Hacker, Member of the German Bundestag, FDP Parlia­mentary Group Spokesperson on European Policy

Nino Haratishvili, German-Georgian Poet and Writer

Rebecca Harms, Former Member of the European Parliament (2004–2019), Alliance 90/​The Greens

Jürgen Hardt, Member of the German Bundestag, CDU/​CSU Parlia­mentary Group Spokesperson on Foreign Policy

Anton Hofreiter, Member of the German Bundestag, Chair of the Committee on the Affairs of the European Union, Alliance 90/​The Greens

Hubertus Jahn, Emeritus Professor of the History of Russia and the Caucasus, University of Cambridge

Ann-Veruschka Jurisch, Member of the German Bundestag, FDP Spokesperson on the Committee on the Affairs of the European Union

Elguja (Giorgi) Kakabadze, GZA, Georgian Centre Abroad

Roderich Kiesewetter, Member of the German Bundestag and Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (CDU)

Dr Khatia Kikalishvili, Programme Director for the Eastern Partnership, Zentrum Liberale Moderne

Chantal Kopf, Spokesperson on European Policy, Alliance 90/​The Greens Parlia­mentary Group in the German Bundestag

Ulrich Lechte, Member of the German Bundestag, Spokesperson for Foreign olicy of the FDP Parlia­mentary Group

Markus Meckel, last Foreign Minister of the GDR, Former Member of the German Bundestag

Dr Stefan Meister, Head of the DGAP’s Centre for Order and Gover­nance in Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia

Mattia Nelles, Co-Founder of the German-Ukrainian Office

Christian Petry, Member of the German Bundestag, European Policy Spokesperson for the SPD Parlia­mentary Group

Dr Erik Porath, Philosopher, Political Scientist, Editorial Member of „RISS“

Prof. Dr Oliver Reisner, Ilia State University in Tbilisi, Jean Monnet Chair, European & Caucasian Studies

Tabea Rößner, Member of the German Bundestag, Deputy Chair of the German-South Caucasus Parlia­mentary Friendship Group, Alliance 90/​The Greens

Michael Sacher, Member of the German Bundestag, Spokesperson for Alliance 90/​The Greens in the European Affairs Committee

Prof. Dr. Schamma Schahadat, Slavic Seminar, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen

Prof. Dr. Gwendolyn Sasse, Centre for Eastern European and Inter­na­tional Studies (ZOiS)

Dr Christian Schaich, Lawyer, Berlin

Prof. Dr. Ulrike Vedder, Institute for German Liter­ature, Humboldt University Berlin

Stephan Wackwitz, Writer, Former Director of the Goethe-Institute in Tbilisi

Prof. Dr. Sigrid Weigel, Former Director of the Leibniz-Zentrum für Literatur- und Kulturforschung

Prof. Dr. Annette Werberger, Profes­sorship for Eastern European Liter­a­tures, European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)

Prof. Dr. Stefan Willer, Institute for German Liter­ature, Humboldt-University, Berlin