In Georgia, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to support the country’s application for EU membership, just days after the European Commission recommended that the country’s candidacy be postponed.
An estimated 60,000 protesters gathered outside Georgia’s parliament building on Monday night to “show the Georgian people’s commitment to its European elections and Western values.”
“Europe is a historic choice and an aspiration for Georgians, for whom all generations have sacrificed,” the organizers wrote on Facebook.
Protesters in the capital Tbilisi waved Georgian, Ukrainian and EU flags, holding placards saying “we are Europe”.
This week, EU leaders are expected to decide whether Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia will be granted candidate status to the EU, the three countries applied for membership after the Russian offensive war against Ukraine began on 24 February.
On Friday, the news came that the European Commission recommends that Ukraine and Moldova be granted candidate status, while Georgia should have to wait a while longer.
For the time being, the European Commission states that the country should be given a “perspective” to become a member, but that candidate status can be given “only when a number of priorities have been addressed”.