European Council President Charles Michel visited Tbilisi earlier this week to meet with the Georgian government and opposition parties, following the arrest of the opposition leader Nika Melia in his party headquarters.

ALDE President Hans van Baalen reacted on the violent police intervention with tear gas stating:

“We call on the governing Georgian Dream party to engage with the opposition and work together towards setting a date for new free, fair, and transparent elections, and we urge the EU leaders meeting later this week to send the same strong message.”

President van Baalen welcomes the mediator role of the EU President in Georgia and remains hopeful for dialogue and collaboration among political parties.

🇬🇪 I welcome @eucopresident Michel’s efforts to mediate the political crisis in #Georgia. We encourage parties to maintain dialogue and work together towards new free, fair, and transparent elections. We also urge the immediate release of Nika Melia and his colleagues. @ALDEParty https://t.co/5NnTdn0rLr

— Hans van Baalen (@hansvanbaalen) March 2, 2021

The next EU-Georgia Association Council will take place on 16 March in Brussels.