Too busy following Amalka's reunion, you probably missed the major diplomatic crisis in Georgia (we forgive you). And big hearts that we are, we explain everything to you in this catch-up session.
When did the tensions date back?
On October 26, the legislative elections in Georgia gave the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party a majority, confirming its general secretary Irakli Kobakhidze as Prime Minister, a position he has held since February. The election was quickly deemed suspicious, particularly by the European Union, which accused Russia of major interference. The President of Georgia Salomé Zourabichvili, breaking with the government and with limited power, declared the new Parliament “unconstitutional”, and requested the annulment of the results of the legislative elections from the Constitutional Court, which has little chance of succeed. The opposition, which accuses Georgian Dream of serious anti-democratic abuses, is also boycotting Parliament.
How did the European Union react?
On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution rejecting the results of the parliamentary elections in Georgia. This resolution demands that a new election be organized within a year under international supervision and that sanctions be taken against senior Georgian officials, including Irakli Kobakhidze.
And Georgia’s response?
The Prime Minister said his government was postponing possible negotiations to join the European Union until 2028, accusing Brussels of “blackmail”. “We have decided not to put the question of membership of the European Union on the agenda before the end of 2028,” he announced. However, he pledged to continue implementing the necessary reforms, ensuring that “by 2028, Georgia will be better prepared than any other candidate country to open accession negotiations with Brussels and become a member state in 2030”.
The Prime Minister, who already criticized the EU and the United States for wanting to drag Georgia into the war between Russia and Ukraine, asked Thursday, in front of deputies, that Brussels “respect our national interests and our values traditional”.
Since when has Georgia been seeking a European place?
A former Soviet republic, Georgia officially obtained candidate status for membership in December 2023, but Brussels has since frozen the process, accusing the Georgian Dream government of carrying out a serious democratic step backwards.
And the people?
On Thursday and Friday, thousands of protesters gathered outside the Parliament and the Georgian Dream headquarters in Tbilisi, holding EU and Georgian flags, and blocking traffic.
Georgian riot police fired tear gas at protesters shortly after midnight on Thursday, and water cannons on Friday.
