"We have woken up to a new reality": EU ambassador made a statement after the Georgian government's rejection of European integration

EU Ambassador to Georgia Pavel Gerchinsky, after the refusal of the Georgian government from EU accession negotiations, said that "today we all woke up to a completely new reality," and what happened yesterday contradicts the policy of all previous Georgian governments, contradicts the desire of the overwhelming majority of the Georgian population, writes UNN with with a link to Interpressnews.

Details

"Personally, it's really painful for me. I remember 2 years ago, when I arrived in Georgia, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, publicly stated: "Georgia belongs to the European Union, the European Union will not be complete without Georgia." This has been the guide of our work here, my work here as an EU ambassador, for 2 years. I was proud that the European Union opened its doors to Georgia, we granted Georgia the status of a candidate country for EU membership, and what happened yesterday clearly contradicts the policy of the previous government of Georgia, all previous governments of Georgia, and also contradicts the desire of the overwhelming majority of the Georgian population. But of course, Georgia is an independent country, a sovereign country, and it is up to Georgia to decide whether it wants to follow the path of European integration. In my opinion, this is very sad and painful," the EU ambassador said.

Recall

On November 28, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced his refusal to start negotiations on Georgia's accession to the EU, indicating that Georgia is not interested in integration into the EU over the next 4 years.

After that, thousands of people spontaneously gathered at the parliament for a rally.

The security forces used special means to disperse the protest, including water cannons. 43 people were detained, dozens of people were injured, including 32 policemen.