A large demonstration is planned for the evening of Friday June 24 in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia, against government policy and for membership of the European Union, after the country's failure to obtain EU candidate status. .
Read alsoUkraine, Moldova, Georgia, Balkans: candidacies that are not at the same level of advancement
Tbilisi has applied for EU membership along with Ukraine and Moldova, after Russia launched its offensive against its neighbor Ukraine.
On Thursday, European leaders decided to grant official candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova and said they were "
ready to grant candidate status
" to Tbilisi once significant reforms have been carried out.
The European Council, however, "
decided to recognize Georgia's European perspective
", which Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili described as a "
historic
" gesture.
“
We are ready to work with determination over the next few months to achieve candidate status
,” she wrote on Twitter.
"We don't believe he will keep his word"
Several pro-European organizations and all opposition formations have announced a mass demonstration for Friday evening, increasing the pressure on the ruling Georgian Dream party, accused of having deteriorated relations with Brussels and of authoritarian drift.
"
Whatever promises the Georgian government makes, we don't believe it will keep its word
," protest organizers posted on Facebook.
“
The Georgian people must defend their European choice,
” they stressed.
For its part, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream party defended its democratic record and accused the opposition of seeking to "
overthrow the authorities by staging anti-government protests
".
Monday, at least 120,000 people took to the streets of Tbilisi to demand membership of the European Union of this former Soviet republic of the Caucasus, a record for decades.
Read alsoGeorgians' call for the European Union
Last week, the European Commission said it would assess by the end of 2022 "
how Georgia meets a number of conditions before granting it candidate status
".
Priorities identified by the Commission include ending political polarization, progress on media freedom, judicial and electoral reforms.
Georgia has wanted for years to join the EU and NATO.
Against the background of these ambitions, a short war opposed him in 2008 to Russia, which immediately recognized the independence of two Georgian separatist territories.
