Brussels – The confrontation in Georgia is no longer just political or even just peaceful. Police have started using violence against peaceful protesters to try to break up the mass street protests, which have been daily for almost a month, in Tbilisi against the pro-Russian-inspired transparency of foreign influence bill. After the criticisms from all EU institutions, at every level, against the ruling Georgian Dream party’s trademark, even the European Commission’s number one, Ursula von der Leyen, has come out unequivocally: “I am following the situation in Georgia with great concern and I condemn the violence in the streets of Tbilisi,” she said in a statement, urging the government to heed the “clear message” of the citizens who are “demonstrating their strong attachment to democracy.”

Sparking tensions in Tbilisi and Brussels is the controversial draft law on ‘transparency of foreign influence’ wanted as early as last year by the ruling Georgian Dream party and stalled after the mass wave of protests of March 2023. With a slight amendment to the text in early April, the government resubmitted the law: all organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad would have to register as an ‘organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power’ (similar to ‘agent of foreign influence’ in effect in Russia since Dec. 1, 2022). For weeks, tensions have been extremely high inside and outside the Tbilisi parliament, where the draft had already been approved in the first and second readings. The final vote is on May 17. No surprises are expected from Georgian lawmakers, but another wave of tension will be inevitable. The draft law will be sent to the President of the Republic, Salomé Nino Zourabichvili, who has already announced that she will veto it, but Georgian Dream will be able to use its overwhelming majority in Parliament to override the veto and make the ‘transparency of foreign influence’ bill become law.

For days, tens of thousands of citizens have attended spontaneous demonstrations organized by united oppositions and civil society organizations to reiterate opposition to draft legislation that would undermine Georgia’s path to membership in the European Union, despite the Candidate country status received on December 14, 2023, from the European Council. “The European Union has also clearly expressed its concerns regarding the law on foreign influence,” von der Leyen noted, warning in a not-so-veiled manner, “Georgia is at a crossroads. It should stay the course on the road to Europe.” And if the Georgian people “want a European future for their country,” the government of Irakli Kobakhidze will have to “take swift action on the measures they have committed to take as a candidate country.” By now, it is no secret in Brussels that the entry into force of the pro-Russian-inspired law would prevent the opening of EU accession negotiations. “If our partners are able to read and understand carefully, they will be able to recognize the message sent publicly and directly,” European External Action Service (EEAS) spokesman Peter Stano explained to the press today (May 2).

The concern now, however, is how Georgian institutions are responding to tens of thousands of people who show no signs of fatigue in taking to the streets every day to demonstrate their opposition to the pro-Russian bill. Particularly after the bill passed its second reading with 83 votes in favor and 23 against in Parliament on Tuesday (April 30). On the same evening, for the first time since March 2023, riot police disrupted peaceful protests on Rustaveli Avenue (where Parliament is located) using tear gas, pepper spray, and water cannons, truncheoning and arresting more than 60 people. “Georgia is an EU candidate country. I call on its authorities to ensure the right to peaceful assembly. Use of force to suppress it is unacceptable,” High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said.

A Flourish map

The complex relationship between the EU and Georgia

Despite being granted candidate status for EU membership, the relationship between Brussels and Tbilisi remains particularly complex due to the distance between an overwhelmingly pro-EU population and a government with pro-Russian tendencies, the same one that applied to join the Union due to fears raised by Kremlin expansionism. Over the past two years, several episodes have highlighted the ambiguity of the ruling Georgian Dream party .In May 2023, flights between Georgia and Russia resumed after Moscow decided to lift the current ban, and the Caucasian country never aligned with restrictive measures introduced by Brussels against the Kremlin after Russia invaded Ukraine. Last fall, the government tried to impeach (but failed) the President of the Republic Zourabichvili for a series of trips to the European Union that allegedly constituted a violation of the powers of the head of state under the national Constitution.

But the Georgian population has for years shown that it does not share the direction taken by Georgian Dream, the reason for which the October 26 elections for the renewal of Parliament will be crucial. Around when Brussels decided not to grant candidate status yet to Georgia, in June 2022, two major pro-EU demonstrations took place in Tbilisi: one March for Europe to reiterate the people’s alignment with the values of the Union and a town hall calling for government’s resignation (with no follow-up by the then Garibashvili-led executive). The common features highlighted from these demonstrations are the flags – white and red of the five crosses (national) and with the twelve stars on a blue field (of the EU) – signs with pro-European claims and the Georgian anthem interspersed with the Ode to Joy. A year later, harsh mass protests broke out in March 2023 – supported by Brussels – which stalled the controversial bill on ‘transparency of foreign influence’ at least until the events of this spring.

In this scenario, one should not forget Georgia’s delicate relationship with Russia, a country with which it borders to the north. Its candidacy for EU and NATO membership – enshrined in its national constitution – has long been a cause of tension with the Kremlin. After conflicts in the 1990s with the two separatist regions of South Ossetia (1991-1992) and Abkhazia (1991-1993), following Georgia’s 1991 independence from the Soviet Union, the situation on the ground was effectively frozen for 15 years, with troops of the newly formed Russian Federation defending the secessionists within the claimed territory. The attempt to reassert Tbilisi’s control over the two regions in the summer of 2008 – launched by then-President Mikheil Saakashvili – led to a violent Russian reaction on August 7, not only in repelling the Georgian army’s offensive but also leading to the invasion of the rest of the national territory with tanks and air raids for five days. Since then, Vladimir Putin‘s Russia has recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and has deployed thousands of soldiers to the two territories to increase its sphere of influence in the Ciscaucasia region, in violation of the August 12, 2008 agreements.

Brussels – No veers to the right, no EPP-ECR entente, no choices that go against the history and interest of the European Union. The strengthening of the EU must always be kept in the background and as a guiding light during the election campaign and, even more so, after the vote; otherwise, the “European project will have a problem,” that of holding. The Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni rejects any suggestion of collaboration with the far right and less Euro-convinced forces, unlike his current Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen. The German, a Popular, has not ruled out hypothetical collaborations with the Conservatives (ECR), which the Italian college member indeed does.

“The next political cycle should be led by pro-European political forces,” said Gentiloni, speaking at the presentation of Luca Jahier’s book Making Europe, Making Peace, with the deputy editor of La Stampa, Marco Zatterin, author of the preface, as a moderator. An emphasis, that of the Economy Commissioner, which is a distancing from von der Leyen and a clear invitation to “think European.”

“The real opponents for Europe are those who say they would like a weaker Europe,” Gentiloni warns. A reference to sovereignists, those who want less Europe and more national parliaments, and those willing to give them credit. “We should protect our Union from those who want to destroy it, and strengthen it against those unwilling to do so.”

Gentiloni, having to think in terms of alliances, looks with more interest to the liberal wing than to the conservative one, precisely because of a vision in any case in favour of the integration project. “Emmanuel Macron’s speech addresses the risks and opportunities for the EU. It was—he stressed— a speech of hope and ambition. The question is whether we will be part of that ambition.” It will depend on the choices, which are also about narrative, which is too often wrong. “Sometimes I hear from my colleagues that we are in decline” as EU, laments the Economy Commissioner. In times of campaigning and less than pro-European temptations, “we should say how strong we are, how strong our unity was in responding to the war in Ukraine, how strong it was to issue common debt.”

Brussels – A proposal bound to stir controversy with almost no hope of being accepted, but that reopens an old debate (including an Italian one) in Europe. Should the right to vote be tied to a test of knowledge of the public and political life of one’s own country, if not even of the European Union? It is what the small – and Euroskeptic right-wing – Czech Conservative Party (KONS) would like, according to the proposal of its leader, Jan Kubalcík.

A kind of voter license that allows to exercising one’s right to vote, somewhat like a driver’s license to operate a vehicle or a high school exam to obtain a diploma. According to Kubalcík, this could be the solution to meet the challenge of voters who are indifferent to politics but occasionally exercise their civic rights in national and European elections: a test consisting of ten questions randomly selected by a computer from among a thousand to exclude from decision-making processes those who lack a basic understanding of political and civic life.

It revives the diatribe between those who advocate the need to ensure an informed electorate and those who consider it a cornerstone to maintain inclusive democratic principles. It should be remembered, however, that this remains only a proposal from a small party without representation at the institutional level and that the Czech politician acknowledges the very slim chances of passing at the national level. Despite its founding in 1990, the Czech Conservative Party has never managed to elect any deputies or senators to the national parliament.

Brussels – Ursula von der Leyen does not close the doors to European conservatives, leaving open the door to a possible collaboration in the next legislature. The outgoing European Commission President seeking another term officially kicked off her election campaign, inflaming Monday night’s debate in Maastricht with a possible EPP-ECR convergence. It was the first debate among candidates running for the leadership of the EU executive.

“A lot depends on the composition of the next Parliament and who will be in it,” von der Leyen said in response to the question about possible collaboration between her, her party, and European conservatives. Those who had expected a clear stance under the banner of an openly pro-European and less winking at the sovereignists were certainly disappointed. So much so that the Socialist candidate Nicolas Schmit attacked, “Please clarify: working with the far right would go against what this Commission has worked for.”

The current Labor and Social Affairs commissioner cites the Lgbtqi community because it is representative of the distinction between a European Union that promotes their rights and conservative political forces that instead tend to reduce and deny their rights. The possible relationship between the EPP and the ECR becomes a cause of friction in the race between the Populars and Socialists, who are nevertheless very close in their vision of other challenges. There was no response last night from the ECR, which does not have a candidate for president of the Commission and, therefore, was not present at the debate.

Fighting illegal immigration and defending the Green Deal is  common to virtually all the candidates who appeared on stage. Even if the Greens, with Bas Eickout, accuse von der Leyen of “watering down” the Green Deal by “withdrawing pesticide cut proposal” and accepting all the demands of farmers, supported by the far right.

According to Von der Leyen, who is eager for a second term, closing the door to the ECR is currently not viable. Not least because five years ago, her investiture in the European Parliament came precisely from part of the conservative group, particularly the Pis Poles. It also sends a message when she says it all depends on who is part of the group: an emphasis that seems to indicate a closure toward Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, who is flirting with conservatives. If anything, von der Leyen is quietly dictating the terms of an alliance between the populars and the conservatives.

The candidate nominated by Renew Europe, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, publicly explains that there is no willingness to wink or make concessions to those who question the EU. “We have to be strong with countries like Hungary because the local problems of one country affect the whole Union.” An ECR with Orban, therefore, would mean the isolation of the EPP in Parliament. The Popular Party’s choices will depend on the choices of others.

Brussels – “Use your vote. Or others will decide for you.” Following the launch of the communication campaign ahead of the June 6-9 European elections, the EU Parliament seeks to push voter participation in the 27 EU member states with a voting awareness program along several lines. In particular with a short film highlighting the historic significance of the electoral appointment for the renewal of the members of the European Parliament for the tenth time since the birth of the united Europe.

“Democracy in the European Union is more important today than ever; your vote will decide what direction Europe will take in the next five years,” is the appeal of the President of the EU Parliament, Roberta Metsola, launching the new phase of the communication campaign for the elections that “will decide the Europe we will live in.” Just as demonstrated by the short film Use Your Vote, which collects the testimonies on democracy of some senior citizens from different member countries to pass them on to new generations and make clear how this right cannot be taken for granted.

The EU institution has already set up a specially dedicated portal in the 24 official languages of the EU with all the useful information, updates on member states, and the possibility to register in the community designed to encourage active participation in organizing and promoting elections.
However, with the vote just over a month away, it is critical for the EU Parliament to remind EU citizens and voters of the importance of actively defending democracy, given the recent history of many current member countries that saw their individual freedoms curtailed in the second half of the twentieth century (following Europe’s common experience of World War II).

In anticipation of the June 6-9 event, the EU Parliament will promote an EU-wide election awareness day on May 9 (Europe Day), which will also include illuminating several monuments-including the Colosseum with the EU flag and the Use Your Vote inscription. On the other hand, as far as moments of information and debate are concerned, to mark on the calendar is the Eurovision Debate, the May 23 confrontation between the Spitzenkandidaten of the European political families, including the current President of the EU Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, for the European People’s Party (EPP), organized by the European Broadcasting Union (the organization that, precisely, organizes the Eurovision Song Contest).

Brussels – The habit is all Italian. However, for the leader of Fratelli d’Italia, it is now an established strategy. Giorgia Meloni announced yesterday (April 28) at the party’s conference in Pescara that she will be the leading candidate in all five Italian constituencies in the June European elections. However, as has been the case since 2014, she will not go to Brussels after the vote. Meloni – as well as other leaders – is running solely to attract preferences to her party. As soon as she is elected, she will give up her role as an MEP and give way to the first candidate of Fratelli d’Italia not elected.

It is not the first time that the leader of Fratelli d’Italia has resorted to the strategy of putting herself at the head of the party in the European elections despite her unwillingness to accept office after the result of the polls. The same occurred in all the rounds for the renewal of the European Parliament in which Fratelli d’Italia has participated since it was founded (in 2012). In 2014, the far-right party failed to pass the threshold, making Meloni’s candidacy useless, while in 2019, she was elected in all constituencies and left the seat to Pietro Fiocchi (Northwest), Sergio Berlato (Northeast), Nicola Procaccini (Center), Raffaele Fitto (South), and Raffaele Stancanelli (Islands). The real difference from the other two votes is the fact that Meloni today is not only the leader of Fratelli d’Italia but also President of the Council of Ministers, and, in this month of campaigning, she will be able to use this institutional clout to push her party to the polls, aiming to elect as many members of the 76-member Italian MEP delegation as possible.

Already during her press conference at the beginning of the year, the leader of FdI and the President of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR) had anticipated her interest in what she called a “high-level democratic test,” that is, comparing herself with the other leaders of Italian parties at the ballot box: “I think that measuring herself against the consensus of citizens would be useful and interesting,” Meloni had said to unofficially launch her run at the new election, which became official arrived yesterday. There is an old Italian habit of considering the European Union as a ground for political confrontation of an almost exclusively national nature and, more specifically, the European Parliament as “a gymnasium or a nursing home,” as Eunews wrote when there was an exodus of MEPs from Brussels to Rome after the September 2022 legislative elections.

Awaiting the publication of candidates for all parties in the five constituencies expected on Wednesday (May 1), when the deadline for submission of electoral lists will expire, has already been made known the candidacy of the Democratic Party secretary, Elly Schlein, as the leading candidate in the Central and Islands constituencies, of the deputy prime minister and secretary of Forza Italia, Antonio Tajani, in all constituencies except the Islands, of the leader of +Europa, Emma Bonino, in the Northwest constituency for the United States of Europe coalition (which brings together +Europa and Italia Viva and will merge into the liberal group Renew Europe), and of the secretary of Azione, Carlo Calenda, in all constituencies as announced in a surprise yesterday. Should they be elected, none of these Italian politicians would be able to take office as MEPs unless they first renounce their current institutional office. According to the Regulation of the European Parliament, the national office is incompatible with the European one, particularly for members of national governments and parliaments.