European Commission President condemns violence in Tbilisi amid protest rallies against transparency

Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, on Wednesday said she was following the situation in Georgia with “great concern” and condemned the violence amid protest rallies against the bin on transparency of foreign influence.

The protests have been ongoing against the draft law that calls for registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.

In her statement over the latest developments in the country, von der Leyen noted Georgia's citizens were demonstrating their “strong attachment to democracy”.

“The Georgian government should heed this clear message. The European Union has also clearly expressed its concerns regarding the law on foreign influence. The Georgian people want a European future for their country. In recognition of these aspirations, the European Council in December gave Georgia candidate status and set out a clear path to the opening of accession negotiations”, the official said.

She stressed the EU expected the Georgian Government would take “swift” action on the measures they had committed to take as a candidate country, and further pointed out that “Georgia should stay the course on the road to Europe”.