Georgia

Today, the European Parliament has voted on a compromise in Georgia after the extraordinary council meeting on monday, september 1st. The important aspect of the resolution affirms that Georgia's integration to the NATO would not solve th crisis in the caucasus region. The greens support this parlamentary decision.  

 Following the extraordinary Council meeting of 1 September, the European parliament today voted on a resolution that states Georgia is not on track to eventually join NATO. Greens/EFA Group co-president Daniel Cohn-Bendit commented:

"The Greens welcome that the European parliament has clearly stated that there must be no military solution to the conflict in the Caucasus. We also welcome Parliament's view that Georgia is not currently on track to join NATO.

We request that the OSCE conducts an inquiry into provocations on both sides, into Georgia's attack and Russia's response. We welcome that MEPs adopted a Green amendment to the resolution, which calls on Russia and Georgia to reveal which areas were targeted by cluster bombs so that demining can take place as a matter of urgency.

Given the power struggle in the Caucasus, we propose to accelerate Turkey's involvement as a political and economic force capable of acting as a counterweight to Russia. We also call for the EU to propose a privileged partnership with Georgia and Ukraine, which should not be an alternative to potential integration in future."

Marie-Anne Isler Béguin, President of the European parliament delegation to the South Caucasus, added:

"We call for a conference focused on reconstruction in the region and resolution of the conflict. Any future decision on the future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia must be based on international law, in particular with regard to the return of all refugees and the respect of minority rights. Furthermore it is essential to set up an international civil administration to support reconstruction efforts in the region."

Press Service of the Greens/EFA Group
in the European Parliament

Christopher Coakley,
Press Officer,
The Greens/EFA in the European Parliament
Tel: Brussels +32 2 2841667 / Strasburg +33 3 88174375
Mobile: +32-477-44-38-42
Fax: 0032 2 2844944
email: christopher.coakley@europarl.europa.eu