Georgia is now at a critical crossroads, the actions of "Georgian Dream" threaten not only our European path, but also the essence of our democracy, Nika Gvaramia, one of the leaders of the "Akhali" political party, said at a briefing held in Strasbourg together with MEPs.

As Gvaramia noted, the Georgian government is engaged in alliance with the Kremlin.

"Last year, we passed an important stage, when Georgia received the candidate status. Nevertheless, the government, preoccupied with its own party interests and alliance with the Kremlin, consistently and deliberately ignores the interests of the Georgian people and does practically everything to undermine our European integration process.

We are currently seeing some worrying legislative changes. These changes include proposals that bear an alarming resemblance to Russia's "foreign agents" law, which stigmatizes international NGOs, civil society organizations and the media. Additionally, recent tax legislation that I call "Russia Law 2" favors wealthy Russian oligarchs, increasing the influence of Russian capital in our country, making Georgia a gray area for Russia to launder money and hide the assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs.

It seems that the "Georgian Dream" government did not implement the important recommendations of the European Union, which are necessary to start formal accession negotiations. In response to these anti-democratic measures, it is necessary that our representatives in the European Union and international partners take a strong position. We appreciate the current support from MEPs and EU officials and call for stronger action, including personal action against those who undermine our democratic processes. Enhanced support is needed for democratic movements and institutions such as critical media and non-governmental organizations in Georgia.

The parliamentary elections of 2024 are decisive. We call for wide-ranging international observation missions to monitor these elections to ensure the transparency and fairness of the process. The active involvement of our EU partners at this critical moment is necessary to protect Georgia's democratic path. It should be noted that the adoption of the Russian law will effectively disqualify those monitoring organizations that do not want to register as foreign agents, which in turn will undoubtedly lead to serious problems with the legitimacy of the results.

Georgia is now at a critical crossroads. The actions of "Georgian Dream" threaten not only our European path, but also the essence of our democracy. We call on everyone here and all our partners across Europe to stand by us to protect democratic values and realize Georgia's European aspirations.

Right now, as we speak, Georgians of all walks of life and political tastes are out in the streets marching for freedom. Young and old, hard-working parents and brave young leaders are taking part in this struggle. Georgian people are united. Georgian pro-Western opposition parties are uniting. Georgian civil society is united. Georgian critical media is united. We hope for a better Georgia and we eagerly seek happiness. As Jean Monnet once said, "We are neither optimists nor pessimists", we are determined to put Georgia back on the right track and return to our historical family, the European Union, to build a modern democracy and a better future for our homeland and our future generations.

The main thing that is happening in Georgia now is that the new generations are on our side. More precisely, we are next to the new generations. They are taking our country forward, this is their homeland and they know it, they need a European homeland. They need Europe and democracy. We Georgians, not so young, are united with them for this purpose. We push them forward, towards a better future, towards a European Georgia. We do not want Russia, it is not our future, it is not for our future generations. They are very hardworking young people, they are very pro-Western. We must win, we have no other choice and we will win. We, the pro-Western opposition parties, will win the 2024 elections and will change the situation in Georgia and become members of the European Union. I am deeply convinced of this. Our young people are asking for it and we have no right to disappoint them. We will win", said Nika Gvaramia.