A single amendment to the European Parliament's 2025 Commission report on Georgia, proposed by the European Sovereign Nations (ESN) Group, alters the resolution's transmission clause to remove the explicit naming of former President Salome Zourabichvili and instead address the resolution to the "President, Parliament and Government of Georgia." The amendment, published on 10 June 2026 as part of report A10-0140/2026, does not change the substantive assessment of Georgia's democratic backsliding or EU integration progress but carries a clear political signal about which Georgian institutions the Parliament should recognize as legitimate interlocutors.
The amendment targets the final paragraph of the resolution, which originally instructed the President of the European Parliament to forward the text to "the President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili." The ESN proposal replaces this with a collective reference to Georgia's state institutions, effectively legitimizing the current government led by the Georgian Dream party, which the original report criticizes for democratic backsliding. By removing the specific name of Zourabichvili—a pro-European opposition figure and symbol of the 2023-2024 protests—the amendment downplays her role and shifts the diplomatic addressee from a political opponent of the current regime to the institutions controlled by the ruling party.
No other political groups tabled amendments, indicating broad acceptance among the EPP, S&D, Renew, Greens/EFA, ECR, and The Left of the original text that singles out Zourabichvili. This silence suggests a consensus among mainstream groups to support the former president as a key democratic figure and to implicitly criticize the current government's trajectory. The ESN amendment thus represents a proxy battle over political recognition: it does not alter the report's core findings on Georgia's EU integration, but it signals a divergence on which Georgian actors the Parliament should engage with.
Stakeholder impact
The amendment primarily affects EU-Georgia institutional relations. For the Georgian government (Georgian Dream), the change is a diplomatic win, as it normalizes their status as legitimate recipients of EU resolutions. For the pro-European opposition and former President Zourabichvili, the amendment is a symbolic setback, reducing her visibility as a recognized democratic figure. For EU institutions, the amendment introduces ambiguity in the Parliament's stance, potentially complicating messaging on democratic standards. For Georgian civil society, the shift may be seen as a weakening of EU support for opposition voices.
Next steps
The amendment will be voted on during the European Parliament's plenary session. If adopted, it will modify the final text of the resolution before transmission. The Council and Commission are not directly involved in this procedural change, but the outcome will influence how EU institutions address Georgia's political leadership in future engagements.