As part of the ongoing monitoring procedure of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the co-rapporteurs for Georgia, Claude Kern (France, ALDE) and Edite Estrela (Portugal, SOC), arrived in Tbilisi with a fact-finding mission [14 to 16 January 2025]. The aim of the visit is to assess Georgia’s compliance with its obligations and commitments as a Council of Europe member state, in particular in the light of the ongoing political crisis following the October elections and the suspension of EU accession negotiations.

During the visit, co-rapporteurs will meet with the leadership of all main political parties, relevant government officials and institutions, as well as civil society and the international community. This is a regular monitoring visit and should not be considered as political support for the legitimacy or the views of the interlocutors they meet.

The co-rapporteurs intend to visit some of the detained protesters whose charges and detention have raised concerns. In this context, the President of the Assembly, having consulted the co-rapporteurs, requested on 23 December 2024 an urgent opinion from the Venice Commission on the Code of Administrative Offences, in particular with regard to the freedom of assembly