Georgia celebrates the 107th anniversary of the Republic and its dependence on the EU

On May 26, Georgia will celebrate the Independence Day of the Georgian Democratic Republic, founded in 1918. The country’s authorities believe that in 1991 Tbilisi regained its sovereignty after the Soviet occupation, so it turns out that today the state turns 107 years old. For the ruling Georgian Dream and its opponents, this became another reason to remind fellow citizens and the world of their irreconcilable struggle with each other.

Georgia’s partners started congratulating her on the holiday in advance. “Dear Prime Minister, dear friend, on my own behalf and on behalf of the Turkish people, I cordially congratulate you and the Georgian people on the Independence Day of Georgia,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. According to him, Ankara and Tbilisi are linked by a strategic partnership aimed at the prosperity of the South Caucasus.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has written a letter to President Mikhail Kavelashvili. In it, the Chinese leader noted the friendly relations between the two republics based on trust and mutual respect. At the same time, he pointed to the deepening of political ties that has been taking place in recent years. “We are good partners,” Xi Jinping assured.

A gala concert was organized in Baku on the occasion of the holiday in the neighboring country. It was attended by Georgian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Zurab Pataradze and Minister of Culture Tinatin Rukhadze. “I want to admit that I love Azerbaijan very much and I am glad to be here today. Azerbaijan is one of my favorite countries,” Rukhadze said.

The monarchs of Great Britain, Spain and the Netherlands also congratulated Georgia on Independence Day. They all wished Tbilisi success and prosperity. However, most of the Western partners were not so friendly.

So, a few days before Independence Day, the head of the US State Department, Marco Rubio, called the Georgian government anti-American and told about the development of new sanctions against it. In turn, representatives of the European Union continue to talk about official Tbilisi’s deviation from the European path of development and democratic values. Moreover, the authorities of the republic themselves gave a new reason for this by arresting one of the leaders of the opposition Coalition for Change party, Zurab Japaridze, for failing to attend a meeting of the special parliamentary commission on crimes of the regime of Mikhail Saakashvili and his supporters. The politician faces up to a year in prison.

The embassies of Denmark, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia and Sweden have made almost identical statements about this. From their point of view, Japaridze’s arrest is a manifestation of political repression that directly contradicts the values of the European Union.

Another confirmation of the deep crisis in relations between the EU and Georgia was the unfortunate incident on the Georgian border. The border guards did not allow European bureaucrat Simon Vanderbrooke into the country. The EU delegation considered this to be a direct violation of the Vienna Convention. Previously, there were many cases when activists, human rights defenders, journalists and politicians were denied entry to Georgia. However, this is the first time an EU diplomat has been refused. The Interior Ministry of the republic called the incident a technical malfunction. The Georgian Foreign Ministry also apologized.

Anyway, the Georgian Dream government continues to insist on its commitment to European integration. “There is a lot of speculation about our path to joining the European Union, but there has been no real change in our policy,” Levan Davitashvili, First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, told Euronews. According to him, all political institutions of the republic are working towards joining the EU.

Davitashvili stressed that Tbilisi has already fulfilled almost 60% of the requirements of Brussels for joining the organization. “We have clearly stated that our goal is full membership in the European Union by 2030,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

According to political analyst Petr Mamradze, the Georgian authorities understand that the EU leadership does not want them in its organization, but they still seek to go there because Georgians are accustomed to identify themselves with Europeans. “The vast majority of Georgians see their future in Europe. This was formed back in Soviet times, not to mention the fact that back in the fourth century, the Georgian king Vakhtang Gorgasali proclaimed that our path was the Hellenic path. Therefore, it is now impossible to declare that Europe is no longer the same, therefore we do not need it. Although it is obvious that there are those in the EU leadership who have moved much further away from European values than Georgia,” Mamradze told NG.

However, he is confident that the leaders of Western countries will still find a way to congratulate Georgia on Independence Day. At the same time, they will try not to mention the Georgian Dream government at all or in a positive way.