Georgia: Tens of thousands rally in Tbilisi to demand EU membership [View all]

[JudyM]

Source: EuroNews

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in Georgia's capital Tbilisi on Monday to demand EU membership for the former Soviet republic in the Caucasus.
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"Europe is a historic choice and aspiration for Georgians, for which all generations have made sacrifices," the organisers said in the statement. "Freedom, peace, sustainable economic development, protection of human rights and justice are values that unite us all and would be guaranteed by integration into the European Union," they added.

The rally was intended to send a signal to Brussels, as EU leaders are due to discuss this week whether to grant official candidate status to Georgia, as well as Ukraine and Moldova. While the European Commission gave a positive opinion on Ukraine and Moldova, it said on Friday that Georgia must first carry out political and other reforms before it can qualify for the status. The EU executive recommended that Georgia be "offered the prospect of EU membership", a status which has no legal value.
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On Friday, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili also welcomed "the historic decision to give Georgia a European perspective," adding that "we will work with Brussels to implement all the requirements and we will get candidate status.

Read more: https://www.euronews.com/2022/06/20/georgia-tens-of-thousands-rally-in-tbilisi-to-demand-eu-membership

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