A spontaneous rally began in Tbilisi after the authorities informed about the suspension of accession to the EU

A spontaneous rally gathered near the central office of the pro-ruling Georgian Dream party in Tbilisi. All because of the statement of Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze — he said that the Georgian authorities are refusing negotiations on joining the European Union until 2028.

Ekho Kavkaza writes about it.

The participants of the action claim that this decision is a "betrayal of the countryʼs interests" and a violation of Article 78 of the Constitution of Georgia, which enshrines the desire for European integration. According to them, such actions endanger the future of Georgia and destroy years of efforts to get closer to Europe.

The protest was organized through social networks. Some of the protesters have already blocked Rustaveli Avenue, where the Parliament of Georgia is located.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said at an emergency briefing that today "marked the end of the constitutional coup; movement from Europe towards Russia". According to her, the government "declared war on its people".

What preceded

Georgia applied to join the EU in March 2022, weeks after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and gained candidate status in December 2023.

In August 2024, the law on "foreign agents" entered into force in Georgia, which caused mass protests. Protesters were dispersed. The EU stated that the adopted law effectively stops the integration of Georgia. The US declared a "comprehensive review" of bilateral cooperation with Georgia due to the suppression of democratic freedoms.

On November 28, 2024, the Prime Minister of Georgia Iraklii Kobakhidze announced that Georgia was abandoning negotiations on joining the EU until 2028. He explained that 2028 will supposedly be the time when Georgia will be economically ready to start accession negotiations.

Elections in Georgia

Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia in October. According to the Central Election Commission, the pro-ruling pro-Russian party "Georgian Dream — Democratic Georgia" won with 53.9% of the vote. According to Georgian laws, this party gets the right to single-handedly form the government.

Four more pro-Western opposition parties broke the 5% barrier. The opposition and the president did not agree with the results, protests began.

At the beginning of November, the court satisfied the lawsuit to cancel the results of the October 26 parliamentary elections. The reason is a violation of the secrecy of the vote. The invalidity of the results was established in 30 polling stations. Later, the Tbilisi Court of Appeal overturned the decision of judge Volodymyr Khuchua, who confirmed the violation of the secrecy of voting in the parliamentary elections.

Deputies of the opposition coalitions "Unity — National Movement" and "For Change" in Georgia declared their withdrawal from the new parliament. They accuse the ruling party "Georgian Dream" of falsifications during the elections.

All the time after the parliamentary elections, rallies against the results of the parliamentary elections were periodically held in Georgia — at one of these demonstrators, law enforcement officers dispersed them.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution in which it did not recognize the results of the parliamentary elections in Georgia.

As early as December 14, 2024, presidential elections are to be held in Georgia. For the first time, he will be elected not by the population, but by the Electoral College. It consists of 300 people — Georgian deputies and members of the Verkhovna Rada of Adjara and the Abkhaz Autonomous Republic (in exile). Opposition MPs will probably not take part in the vote.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.