Photo: @nikagurini
Massive protests took place in Georgia after the government announced the suspension of negotiations on the country’s accession to the European Union. The protests, which lasted for two nights in a row, led to clashes with police, who used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protesters. As a result, more than 100 people were detained, the Georgian Interior Ministry reported.
The decision of the Tbilisi government to suspend negotiations on European integration by 2028 has caused massive outrage among citizens. EU aspirations are extremely popular among Georgians, and support for this idea remains high in the country, according to opinion polls.
The protests began on Friday night and lasted until Saturday, when thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tbilisi, calling for the country’s European integration course to be restored. The government’s actions were perceived as a rollback of Euro-Atlantic aspirations, which are part of Georgia’s constitutional course.
Deteriorating relations with the West
The decision culminated several months of tense relations between Georgia and the Western world. Many of the government’s critics accuse it of authoritarianism and pro-Russian policies. This year, the ruling Georgian Dream party has initiated laws relating to “foreign agents” and LGBT rights, which many consider copied from Russian legislation.
Nevertheless, the party claims that it is committed to EU membership and that these laws are necessary to protect Georgia’s traditional values. At the same time, Georgia’s pro-European integration President Salome Zurabishvili has criticised the government for its position and compared the situation in Georgia to that in Romania, saying that Russia is trying to interfere in the internal affairs of European countries.
The protests continue, and this could be a new stage in Georgia’s long-running political crisis, given the growing dissatisfaction of some in society with the lack of real progress towards the EU.
