EGI Political Digest 46

Georgia to apply for EU membership

The Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Gharibashvili signed the application for EU membership on March 3. The country is now waiting for candidate status from Brussels.

Protests were held in Tbilisi for several days before Gharibashvili’s statement. Georgian citizens expressed solidarity with Ukraine and called on the government to pursue a pro-Western foreign policy.

Before the signing, the Prime Minister addressed the citizens of Georgia with a 6-minute speech: “Georgia is a European state; Our country, throughout its long history, has always belonged to the European culture and civilization and even today it makes a valuable contribution to its protection and development. Europeanism is nothing more than a set of values ​​and values ​​that make up Europe.”

The decision of the government was positively assessed by the representatives of the opposition parties.

Nika Melia, Chairman of the Main Opposition Party, United National Movement, said: “I congratulate the Georgian people – their struggle, their attitude and thirst for freedom have yielded results.  The Georgian government was forced to apply for EU membership in an expedited manner… I want to address the Western world that we agree with President Zelensky and yes, we may not have a decent government, but we are a decent fighting nation.”

Mamuka Khazaradze, the leader of the Lelo for Georgia party, spoke about Gharibashvili’s decision: “The protest must continue – we must do everything possible to ensure that the statement does not remain as stated.” 

The same day, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said his country supports Georgia’s accession to the European Union.

Volodymyr Zelensky’s address to Tbilisi

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed a gathering of people in Tbilisi and six European cities for support of Ukraine On March 4.

Zelensky’s appearance was greeted by applause. He thanked the people and dedicated the first minute of his speech to paying the tribute to the memory of the fallen soldiers, police, guards and intelligence officers.

“For the second minute, I want to honor the memory of our civilians and children with a minute of silence,” Zelensky said.

“In the third minute, I want to address you – the people of Europe. Do not be silent, take to the streets and support Ukraine… Support our freedom, because it is a victory, a victory not only over the Russian warriors, if we win and I am sure we will win, it will be a victory for the whole democratic world,” he stated.

Rallies in support of Ukraine have been held in Tbilisi every day since the start of the war. The demonstrators call on the Georgian government to support Ukraine and pursue a pro-Western foreign policy.

Secretary Blinken’s Call with Georgian President Zourabichvili

A telephone conversation took place between the President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili and the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. 

According to the statement of State Department, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke to Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili about the global response to the Russian government’s premeditated, unprovoked and unjustified attack and the continuation of Russia’s occupation of Georgia.

“The Secretary expressed his gratitude to the Georgian people and President Zurabishvili for her personal, unwavering support for Ukraine. He reiterated the United States’ strong commitment to Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and said that the United States will continue to support the Georgian people for a democratic, peaceful, and prosperous Euro-Atlantic future. ” – says Ned Price, a spokesperson for the US Department of State.