European Commission President condemns violence in Tbilisi amid protest rallies against transparency
In her statement over the latest developments in the country, von der Leyen noted Georgia's citizens were demonstrating their “strong attachment to democracy”. Photo: European Commission
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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”.
Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on Wednesday said the Western Balkans, Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia had a “historic window of opportunity” to “strongly bind their future” to the EU.
Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on Wednesday “strongly condemned” violence against protesters during a rally in Tbilisi between Tuesday and Wednesday against the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence.
Peter Fischer, the German Ambassador to Georgia, on Wednesday said “violence should stop” following protests in the capital city of Tbilisi against the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Tuesday highlighted the country’s “civilisational choice” of integration into the European Union in his address to an informal meeting of the General Affairs Council of the bloc, hosted in Brussels to mark the 20th anniversary of 2004 enlargement of the EU.