The door is here and the door is open. We are not going to take this door and move it in the direction of the "Georgian dream" - we will not take a single step beyond the values ​​of the European Union, said Robin Wagener, a member of the German Bundestag, the coordinator of the German federal government for the inter-community cooperation of the South Caucasus, the Republic of Moldova and Central Asian countries. He said in an exclusive interview given to "InterpressNews" after the Bundestag adopted the resolution on the issue of Georgia.

According to him, the message of the German Bundestag is clear that Georgia will neither become a member of the European Union nor resume the accession process with the law "On transparency of foreign influence" and the legislation directed against minorities.

"We granted the candidate status as a sign of respect for the involvement of Georgia's strong civil society, which unequivocally wants to be a member of the European Union and which is unequivocally following this path, but we also expected the Georgian authorities to take further steps towards becoming a member of the European Union. Now we see that the door of the European Union is open, but Georgia is going in a different direction due to the decision of the "Georgian Dream" government. The main vision of the resolution is that there will be no EU membership and no further membership process in the EU due to the anti-non-governmental or foreign influence of Russian law and also the existence of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Both of these are so clearly against the values ​​of the EU that there can be no further accession under this legislation. Now the Georgian people must decide which way to go - to the open door of the European Union or to another direction, with the current course, and this decision must be made at the elections," said Robin Wagener.

According to his explanation, the European Union is not an economic club, but a society based on values, and for Georgia wishing to join the European Union, focus on this, there is no interference in the domestic processes of the country.

"The door is here and the door is open, but it is the decision of Georgia and the Georgian government not to go through this door. We are not going to take this door and move it in the direction of the "Georgian Dream". We have made it clear that the door is where there is a unity of values-based states living in a liberal democracy, with the protection of minorities and the idea of ​​a strong civil society. These are the fundamental principles on which this union is based, and if the Georgian government decides not to fulfill these requirements, it turns out that it is Georgia's decision not to go through this door. We will not pass this door, we will not take a single step beyond the values ​​of the European Union. The door is open and Georgia can decide to go through this door, but it should be the decision of Georgia, it should be the decision of the Georgian people, and I think the place for that will be at the elections.

For the European Union, which is not just an economic club, but a society based on values, committed to democracy, the rule of law, liberal democracy, the protection of minorities and a strong civil society, it is clear to us that anyone who wants to become a member of this society must fulfill specific requirements and precisely We expressed this in the resolution. Therefore, this is not an intervention, but a statement that you cannot become a member of a society based on these values, if you do not fulfill the requirements," Wagener said.

As for the cancellation of the visa regime for Georgia, according to the deputy, Germany does not want to punish the brave Georgian nation.

"We do not want to punish the population. We don't want to punish these brave people who are protesting in the street in this very polarized situation, in a dangerous and violent situation for their health, and in fact the facts of violence are recorded. These brave people still come out to protest and we don't want to punish the people of Georgia. However, we have clearly stated that there will be no further accession to the European Union with the course taken," Wagener said.