After rejection of EU candidacy, Georgians feel they are missing the train of history
A new demonstration in support of Georgia's accession to the European Union is scheduled for this Sunday, July 3, 2022. REUTERS - IRAKLI GEDENIDZE
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2 mins
Georgian civil society organizations are calling for a new rally for rapprochement with Europe this Sunday, July 3.
They denounce what they consider to be the deliberate policy of the government to prevent the country from obtaining candidate status for EU membership.
On 23rd June the European Council granted Ukraine and Moldova the status of candidates, subjecting Georgia to various conditions before re-examining its dossier.
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With our special correspondent in Batumi,
Régis Genté
Three quarters of Georgians support the European path
on which the country has embarked since the 1990s. So the prevailing feeling is that of missing the train of history.
For two centuries, the Caucasian republic has felt that it belongs to the European family.
For two decades, she has worked hard to get closer to it.
So when
European authorities decided on June 23 not to grant Georgia the status of EU candidate country
, the blow was hard for Ekaterina, a 40-year-old teacher who came to spend her holidays in Batumi, on the shores of the Black Sea.
"
We had great hopes of taking this step towards Europe.
This represents enormous potential for us.
Our youth want to be part of Europe.
But here we are, we will have to wait a little longer
, ”she regrets.
government undermining
Bitterness runs high among Georgia's 3.7 million, with the government, controlled by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili giving the impression of having done everything to undermine the country's chances of gaining EU candidate status , as expressed by Tengo, a young hotel employee.
"
This failure is the government's fault," he said.
When I look at our political life, I understand that he makes every possible mistake.
There are plenty of reasons for this failure, but I am sure that the power is supported by Russia.
»
The malaise is all the greater in Georgia since a year ago, it was one of the countries that had made the most efforts to integrate the EU, among the six of
the Eastern Partnership
, the neighborhood policy of Brussels in the former Soviet space.
►Also read
: Georgian power multiplies the signs of a pro-Russian orientation
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Georgia
European Union
Bidzina Ivanishvili