Thousands of people gathered in Sakartvele for a rally for EU membership

The EU’s executive body also recommended that member states start formal negotiations on the membership of Ukraine and Moldova.

Prime Minister Iraklis Garibashvili and Sakartveli President Salome Zurabishvili congratulated the country on its historic victory.

On Wednesday evening, S. Zurabishvili addressed a crowd gathered at a pro-European rally outside the presidential palace in the capital Tbilisi, waving Sakartveli and EU flags.

She read a petition, which will be available for signature, calling on European capitals to give Sakartwell an official chance for membership.

“We urge you to grant our nation candidate status, taking into account the long-standing aspirations of the Kartvelian nation and the unbreakable will of its people,” the petition reads.

“Our future is with you – in Europe. This future has no alternative!” it added.

EU leaders will have to make a final decision on Sakartvel’s status as a candidate country in mid-December.

Sakartvel applied for EU membership along with Ukraine and Moldova after Russia invaded its pro-Western neighbor Ukraine in February 2022.

EU leaders granted candidate status to Kyiv and Chisinau, while calling on Tbilisi to first implement judicial and electoral reforms, strengthen media freedom and limit the power of oligarchs.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Brussels made the recommendation with the condition that the Sarkartwell government undertake reforms that “reflect the real aspirations of the vast majority of its citizens to join the European Union”.

Membership in the EU and NATO is enshrined in the Sakartvel constitution and, according to public opinion polls, is supported by more than 80 percent. of the country’s population.