Europe Calling “Georgia – A country fighting for a future in Europe!”

Recording here:

Dear friends!

For almost two weeks, hundreds of thousands of people in Georgia have been protesting continuously against Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s announcement that EU accession talks would be suspended until 2028.

In October, Kobakhidze’s right-wing party ‘Georgian Dream’, founded and financed by the Russia-friendly oligarch and billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, won an absolute majority in the parliamentary elections. International observers sharply criticised the election. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili calls it ‘illegitimate’.

Meanwhile, there are more and more reports of violent intervention by the police and security forces, disappearances and repression. However, the courageous people won’t be silenced and continue to fight for a future in Europe.

In the next Europe Calling webinar, we want to understand what is happening in Georgia and what role the European Union can and should play here.

To do this, we will go directly to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, to talk to:

• Teona Macharashvili is a democracy activist in Georgia and co-founder of Caucasus Open Space (COS), an NGO that promotes democracy, the rule of law and sustainability in the region. Teona is also the director of Maisi.News, an investigative journalism platform.
• Dr Sonja Katharina Schiffers is Head of the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s South Caucasus Regional Office in Tbilisi
• Moderator: Maximilian Fries, Europe Calling e.V.

Date: Saturday, 14 December 2024, 6:00 – 7:00 pm (CET), 9:00 – 10:00 pm (Tbilisi time)

The webinar will be simultaneously translated into German and English.

Come along, listen and join the discussion!

With European greetings,

Max and everyone at Europe Calling e.V.