Editorial: La Vanguardia

• Georgia, a former Soviet republic, has been revising for EU membership since 2016 and has a close relation with NATO.
• Georgians' European sentiment clashes with the pro-Russian orientation of the ruling party, Georgian Dream.
• Recently resigned prime minister, Irakli Garibashvili, shifted his stance pro-Russia sparking massive protests.
• Garibashvili's successor, Irakli Kobajizde, has continued the same pro-Russian policy.
• Georgia's Parliament has passed on second reading a 'foreign influence agents' law very similar to one from Russia, triggering protests.
• The law threatens Georgian NGOs and news media defending LGTBIQ+ rights and causing a pro-European opinion.
• Both the EU and the U.S. have warned that this law will take Georgia off the path to European integration.
• The situation coincides with Georgia's rapprochement to the EU since 2018.
• The conflict in Ukraine has led Georgia's regime to support Russian stands.
• Russia occupies 20% of Georgian territory due to past wars and threatens the region's stability.

Conclusion: Tension between identification with Europe and historical Russian influence is polarizing Georgian society, with Tiflis swinging between the two areas of influence.

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