Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas responded to Estonian MP Varro Vooglaid’s question regarding FM Tsahkna’s speech at an anti-transparency protest rally in Georgia.

Kaja Kallas said: “I would argue that participating in one of the demonstrations would automatically be interference in the country’s internal affairs. If you consider the Maidan demonstrations in Ukraine, you will see that many European politicians and citizens participated in them to show their support for the Ukrainian people, who similarly chose the European path and protested against the then-president’s attempts to steer the nation closer to Russia. And Georgia is currently experiencing something similar to this analogy.”

The PM noted that “despite claiming to wish to join the European Union, they make decisions that contradict this, for example, the violent suppression of demonstrations, their treatment toward the opposition. And again, would I have participated in such a demonstration myself? – No, I would not do so, but it was the foreign minister’s choice to take the stage there along with other foreign ministers, and you can ask him more precisely in this sense.”

“But, in any case, since Georgia received EU candidate status, such steps that take them further away from the European Union are no longer an internal matter for Georgia, but they must also understand that it deprives people of the privileges for which they applied.

In other words, these actions are inconsistent with European ideals and the pledges Georgia made to the European Union. This is the message we are attempting to express through many routes, including communication with the ambassador and diplomatic channels. We are concerned about what is going on in Georgia since we have always been friends with them,” she added.

Estonian MP Varro Vooglaid has deemed Transparency Law as ‘perfectly reasonable.’ In his address to the Estonian Prime Minister in the Parliament, Vooglaid said: “I still haven’t understood what the problem is with this law. I know a similar legislation exists in the United States. I am aware that comparable regulations are being considered throughout the European Union. I am aware that not only Russia but also Hungary, have accepted similar bill. And I don’t see why Estonia shouldn’t pass such a legislation so that we know the organisations which are heavily sponsored from overseas and attempt to influence political processes in Estonia.”

The foreign ministers of Estonia, Iceland, and Lithuania addressed the anti-transparency rally participants on Rustaveli Avenue on 15 May. Margus Tsahkna stated that “every nation has the right to decide where they belong, what values they are sharing and what kind of values they are standing for. And I know all together with you, Georgian people, we are sharing the same values about democracy and freedom.”