The Netherlands will be asking the European Union to suspend visa-free arrangements it has with Georgia after more than 300 people were arrested in pro-EU demonstrations there last week.

Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Caspar Veldkamp said he would be making the formal request “to make it clear to the Georgian government the path they are taking comes with a price."

Currently, Georgian nationals can travel into the EU for short visits without requiring a visa.

Veldkamp was speaking to journalists on Thursday morning, at the start of a two-day OSCE Ministerial Summit being held in Malta.

He said he would also be asking the OSCE to investigate the Georgian government and its actions.

More than 300 people have been detained in Georgia after demonstrators took to the streets to protest against the government’s decision to halt negotiations for it to join the EU.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who leads the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party, has blamed Opposition parties for fomenting dissent.

Georgian Dream assumed power in October following a heated election which Opposition groups said was rigged.

The party had said during its electoral campaign that it intended to continue EU accession talks but would do so on its own terms.

But last week the Georgian government suddenly said it would be freezing that process. The announcement came hours after the European Parliament adopted a resolution criticising the result of Georgia’s October election.

Georgian Dream's announcement that it would be halting accession talks to the EU on the 28 November came hours after the European Parliament adopted a resolution critical of the result of October's election, in which the party secured a parliamentary majority.