The heads of state and government have declared Ukraine and Moldova to be EU accession candidates, but not Georgia. There, people are now taking to the streets en masse – and demanding the resignation of their prime minister.
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Georgia for the South Caucasus republic to join the EU. On Friday evening in the capital Tbilisi, they also demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. The Georgian media reported that his government had not done enough to ensure that Georgia became a candidate for EU membership.
The organizers of the protests in front of the parliament therefore demanded an interim government. “If the government doesn’t want to hear the will of the Georgian people, we (…) will show them the anger of the Georgian people like they’ve never seen it before,” shouted a speaker at the protest. It was only on Monday that demonstrators had called for more efforts to join the EU.
On Thursday, the EU heads of state and government summit granted Ukraine and Moldova the status of EU candidate countries. Georgia should first implement reforms before that happens. The country submitted an application in Brussels at the beginning of March. “The application for EU membership is another milestone on Georgia’s path to European integration,” Garibashvili said.