Georgians were preparing to demonstrate in force on Monday in support of their small Caucasian country’s accession to the European Union after the European Commission recommended waiting to accept its candidacy.
In a press release, several organizations called for a “March for Europe” on Monday evening in Tbilisi to “demonstrate the commitment of the Georgian people to their European choices and to Western values”.
“Europe is a historic choice and aspiration for Georgians, for which all generations have made sacrifices,” the organizers said in the statement.
“Freedom, peace, sustainable economic development, the protection of human rights and justice are values that unite us all and which would be guaranteed by integration into the European Union,” they added.
The rally aims to send a signal to Brussels as EU leaders will discuss this week whether or not to grant official candidate status to Georgia, along with Ukraine and Moldova.
Although the EU Commission issued a positive opinion on Ukraine and Moldova, on Friday it nonetheless took the view that Georgia must first implement reforms, particularly political ones, before it can claim this status.
The EU executive recommended offering Georgia “the prospect of becoming a member of the European Union,” a situation that has no legal merit.
“It’s up to Georgia to speed up the (reforms) and work towards that open door,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Tbilisi’s ruling Georgian Dream Party said it was “happy” to have a “concrete roadmap” but said it was “regrettable” that the commission is not now backing candidate status.
The Georgian government has come under increasing criticism for its human rights record in recent years, with NGOs raising concerns about the decline in freedom of expression.