In recent years, the situation in Georgia has escalated, and researchers believe that this is linked to its status as an EU candidate country. The Italian foreign policy institute ISPI closely monitors the situation in Eastern Europe, Russia, and the Caucasus and considers the recent protests in Georgia and Russia’s reaction to them to be serious. There are already comparisons being drawn to Ukraine.
In Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, riot police used force to break up the protests, resulting in arrests and injuries to protesters. The background of the situation stems from a legal project proposed by the Georgian government, requiring NGOs and other actors that receive significant funding from foreign sources to declare themselves as “agents of foreign powers.” The bill was attempted to be passed about a year ago but due to protests had to be retracted. The bill is seen as contradicting European values. Additionally, Georgia’s status as an EU candidate country plays a role in tensions.
The EU’s high representative for foreign policy, Joseph Borrell, condemned the violent dispersal of demonstrations in Georgia this week while emphasizing the importance of upholding the right to peaceful assembly. ISPI researchers suggest that this bill exacerbated the crisis between pro-European integration parties and an increasingly authoritarian populist government. They also note that Russian authorities have accused Western governments of stoking anti-Russian sentiment among Georgians while defending this controversial legislation. However, ISPI researcher Eleonora Tafuro Ambrosetti highlighted Georgian civil society’s vitality and determination in facing these challenges and drew comparisons with Ukrainian activism.
