The Observer view on Georgia protests: as police fire teargas in Tbilisi, the EU must show Putin it means business

A demonstrator holds the Georgian national and EU flags during an opposition protest in Tblisi on 3 May against ‘the Russian law’, which critics fear will stifle media freedom and endanger the country’s bid for EU membership. Photograph: Zurab Tsertsvadze/AP

The tendency of long-entrenched governments to arrogantly ignore or override the public’s clearly expressed wishes is a familiar democratic flaw, attributable to the arrogance and hubris that stems from continuing, unchecked power. The former Soviet republic of Georgia is a prime example.

Polls consistently show that about 80% of Georgians want their country to join the European Union. The aim of achieving membership is enshrined in the constitution. Yet last week, Georgia’s government, ruling party and thuggish police did their violent best to torpedo hopes of EU accession. That they ultimately fail to do so is of great importance to Georgians and to Europe.

One explanation for their conduct is that reforms required by Brussels, which awarded Georgia candidate status in December, have alarmed the ruling Georgian Dream party, overseen by the billionaire former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. Proposed judicial and electoral changes, curbs on oligarchs’ business interests and greater media freedom could weaken its grip on power.

Opposition politicians, supported by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, say Georgian Dream uses public sector jobs, salaries and other forms of patronage, plus fraud, vote-buying and systemic “misuse of administrative resources” to keep voters in line. The party has been in office since 2012, so it seems to be working.

Fear is another government weapon, as thousands of demonstrators discovered last week. They were attacked by police and chased off the streets of Tbilisi during protests against a Russian-style “foreign agents law” that targets independent civil society groups, media and NGOs. The EU warns that the law is incompatible with membership.

Another explanation is that the government’s stance is dictated by Moscow. In 2008, Georgia lost a brief war with Russia, which still occupies parts of its territory. Its aspirations to join Nato as well as the EU are anathema to Vladimir Putin. Georgia’s president, a government foe, says it is tamely following Kremlin orders, which it denies.

More convoluted still is the government’s claim that it genuinely wants to join the EU and Nato, but must tread carefully for fear of ending up like Ukraine. At the same time, Ivanishvili says it’s all about defending Georgia’s sovereignty from western global warmongers, “LGBT propaganda” and foreign human rights “pseudo-elites”.

That is a script that could have been written by Putin. It reflects a broader narrative used by Moscow to intimidate Georgia, the wider east and north European and central Asian neighbourhoods – what used to be called Russia’s “near abroad”. This repeated bullying and coercion poses a fundamental challenge to the EU and the west.

Offering the chance of EU membership to a country must mean something tangible and real. It must not be used to exert influence while giving back little or nothing in return. Georgia, like Ukraine and Moldova (which also have candidate status), and several applicant countries in the Balkans, must not be strung along indefinitely by Brussels.

That means Europe’s leaders deciding, when they meet next month, to launch EU accession negotiations with some or all of these states. It means offering firm membership timelines. It means signalling to Russia that the west will not abandon efforts to promote democratic values and the rule of law at the first whiff of opposition or, in Georgia’s case, teargas.

Last week marked 20 years since the EU’s biggest enlargement. Ten countries joined, mostly from the former Soviet bloc. Overall, their accession has proved a huge boon to them and Europe, politically, economically and culturally. Enlargement struck a historic blow against the dark forces still stalking the bloodied streets of Tbilisi. So why stop now?