Georgia’s outgoing president, Salome Zourabichvili, appealed to the European Union to use greater political and economic leverage on her country’s government and support demands for a new election. Her address to the European Parliament came amid sustained protests and an increasingly forceful police response.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators had repeatedly gathered after the governing Georgian Dream party suspended negotiations on joining the EU. Opposition groups also disputed the result of an October parliamentary election, alleging it had been manipulated with Russian help. The government’s critics viewed both developments as signs that Georgia was turning away from its stated European path.
Speaking in Strasbourg, Zourabichvili argued that the bloc had responded too slowly and only partially to events in the South Caucasus country. She pointed to the EU’s position as Georgia’s largest donor and economic market, as well as the presence of a large Georgian diaspora in Europe, as potential sources of influence. Protesters, she said, would continue seeking a free and fair election.
The EU had granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023. It later placed the accession process on hold and reduced financial support after lawmakers passed a foreign-influence law widely criticised as damaging to civil liberties. On December 16, EU foreign ministers agreed to introduce visa restrictions for Georgian diplomats and officials. They discussed targeted sanctions against Georgian representatives but did not reach the unanimity needed to adopt them.
Zourabichvili told legislators those steps did not match the scale of the crisis. She also warned that laws were being adopted rapidly while public attention focused on demonstrations, and said political power had become concentrated under one party. Several European lawmakers displayed Georgian flags during her speech.
Her intervention followed the selection of former footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili as Georgia’s next president by an electoral college controlled by the governing party. The transition was deepening a confrontation over the legitimacy and direction of the country’s institutions.
EU leaders were due to meet in Brussels the next day. A draft summit statement reported by the Associated Press expressed disappointment over the government’s decision to freeze accession talks until 2028. It also condemned the crackdown and called on Georgian authorities to protect freedom of assembly and expression, avoid force, investigate violence and hold those responsible accountable. The draft did not contain new punitive measures and remained subject to change before adoption.
Zourabichvili framed the dispute as a test of Europe’s capacity to defend democratic aspirations in a neighbouring candidate country. She warned that without a renewed election, Georgia could enter a deeper and less predictable political crisis.
