Good morning from Tbilisi, Tens of thousands of Georgians took to the streets of Tbilisi on Monday evening to protest what they described as a vote “stolen” by the pro-Russia Georgian Dream party. In an interview with Euractiv, Georgian President Salome Zourabishvili called on the EU not to recognise the result and apply “all pressures” to prevent Georgia from falling into Russia’s influence. However, the EU needs to navigate its own pressures, as while EU institutions have reacted, an EU-27 statement is yet to be tabled. On Monday evening, thirteen EU ministers signed a joint statement saying the electoral irregularities “betray” the Georgian people’s legitimate European aspirations. They also criticised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s “premature” visit to Georgia, stressing that “he does not speak on behalf of the EU”. The co-signatories are Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Sweden. But the missing signatures reflect Europe’s hesitance. Europe has some options on the table, but Brussels insiders also point to Georgia's lack of geographical proximity as another challenge for the EU. Waiting for the result of the US elections next week so that the West as a whole can coordinate on concrete action - if election irregularities are proven- is also a possibility. The EU will need to decide whether to engage in another ‘proxy’ confrontation with Russia or whether Georgia’s situation will simply be labelled as an ‘internal matter’. | 