“if Georgia will become a one-party state, a country in which political opposition is banned, a place where civil society needs to go abroad to operate, if basic human rights, including rights of minorities, are not protected, then Georgia will not become a member of the European Union, neither today, nor tomorrow, nor the day after tomorrow,” said EU Ambassador to Georgia, Pawel Herczynski.

According to the EU Ambassador, the European Union is based on certain values, which every future member needs to strictly observe.

“Since you asked me about the recent electoral announcements of the ruling party, let me tell you and all the viewers loud and clear that the European Union is based on certain values. Those values are non-negotiable. Those values are enshrined in treaties. This is freedom, democracy, the rule of law, rights of minorities. And, we sincerely hope that during the elections on the 26th of October, the Georgian people will elect a new government that will stick to those norms.

And let me say very openly if Georgia will become a one-party state, if Georgia will become a country in which political opposition is banned, if Georgia will become a place where civil society needs to go abroad to operate, if basic human rights, including rights of minorities, are not protected, then Georgia will not become a member of the European Union, neither today, nor tomorrow, nor the day after tomorrow. These are non-negotiable principles that every current member state of the European Union and every future member of the European Union needs to strictly observe,” he said.