The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Poland have jointly condemned the Georgia violence against pro-democracy protesters in Georgia, announcing a downgrade in relations with Tbilisi and concrete steps against officials they hold responsible.
In a joint statement issued under the Weimar Triangle format, Annalena Baerbock of Germany, Jean-Noël Barrot of France and Radosław Sikorski of Poland said they “strongly condemn” the violence used against peaceful protesters, journalists and opposition leaders, and reminded the Georgian government of its duty to protect human rights, freedom of assembly and media freedom. They also condemned threats made against political figures.
Key Points
- The three ministers said Georgia’s ruling party bears responsibility for the crisis that followed the disputed Oct. 26 election.
- They will apply the EU decision ending visa-free travel for Georgian diplomatic and service passport holders and are weighing further measures.
- The statement reaffirmed support for “the democratic and European aspirations of the Georgian people.”
Georgia violence: from protest movement to diplomatic rupture
Georgia has been in turmoil since the Oct. 26 parliamentary election, which the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed to have won but which the opposition, the outgoing pro-Western president and many Georgians allege was rigged. Nightly protests outside parliament swelled after Nov. 28, when the government announced it was freezing the country’s European Union accession process until 2028 — a stunning reversal for a nation that had only recently won EU candidate status and where support for membership runs high.
Riot police answered the demonstrations with water cannon, tear gas and mass detentions. Rights groups and Georgian media reported more than 400 people detained and scores injured, including journalists covering the unrest. The three ministers cited the OSCE/ODIHR final election report, which they said confirmed serious irregularities and inadequate investigation of complaints — evidence, in their reading, that the vote fell short of the standards expected of an EU candidate.
Background: how Georgia drifted from the European path
Georgian Dream, founded by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, has governed since 2012 and has steadily strained relations with Brussels and Washington. Laws adopted in 2024 targeting foreign-funded media and civil society — modelled, critics say, on Russian legislation — triggered the first wave of mass protests and drew sanctions threats. The party insists it still seeks EU membership while also wanting warmer ties with Moscow, a balancing act its opponents call a deliberate turn toward Russia, which fought a war with Georgia in 2008 and still stations troops in two breakaway regions.
The ministers said the party’s course of “repression and democratic backsliding” had already led their countries to downgrade cooperation with Georgian authorities and reduce assistance. Germany separately announced entry restrictions on nine individuals it accused of responsibility for violence against protesters and opposition figures.
What happens next
The statement raises the prospect of further EU and national measures if the Georgia violence continues, and it lands days after parliament installed a loyalist, Mikheil Kavelashvili, as president while the incumbent, Salome Zourabichvili, refused to recognize the result — leaving Georgia with rival claims to legitimacy. Protesters, meanwhile, kept returning to Tbilisi’s Rustaveli Avenue through the New Year holiday, vowing not to abandon the streets.
For the three ministers, the message was deliberately paired: pressure on the government, solidarity with the society. Whether that combination can move Tbilisi — which has so far answered European criticism by accusing the West of interference — became one of the defining questions for Georgia’s stalled European path in 2025.
The choice of format was itself part of the message. France, Germany and Poland created the Weimar Triangle in 1991 and revived it after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a caucus for European security questions. Deploying it for a statement on a small Caucasus nation signalled that Georgia’s crisis is being handled in Paris, Berlin and Warsaw as a question of the continent’s order, not a bilateral quarrel. The ministers also put Tbilisi on notice that the review would not stop at statements: cooperation programmes, official contacts and assistance were all, they said, under reconsideration while the violence continued.
Sources: Joint statement of the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Poland (Weimar Triangle) on Georgia, Dec. 31, 2024; OSCE/ODIHR final report on Georgia’s Oct. 26, 2024 parliamentary elections; German Federal Foreign Office.
