Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-01-17-Speech-3-240"
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"en.20010117.7.3-240"2
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"Unfortunately, the honourable Member is absolutely right in saying that democracy, human rights and the principle of the rule of law are not respected in an acceptable way in Belarus. The Council is well aware of the situation that has prevailed for a long time in that country and is following the developments very closely. The EU has repeatedly appealed to the authorities in Belarus to respect international standards in these extremely important areas. At the same time, the European Union has made the most of every opportunity to encourage the development of a healthy civil society in Belarus.
The Swedish Presidency will, with great resolve, continue the efforts of the previous presidencies to encourage improvement in democracy in Belarus. The Council feels that it is only through such improvements that the people of Belarus can fully exercise their power over the future of the country. By voting in a new president, the people will get the chance this year to take a crucial decision on what their future will hold. Within the relevant frameworks, the Council will offer the democratic powers every encouragement to guarantee that voters have a real and credible choice of candidates. The EU’s support of civil society, individual organisations and media is an important element in furthering democracy.
As a neighbour of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, Belarus will soon border an enlarged EU. Therefore, the Council is particularly keen that, in the long term, Belarus is established as a partner and it is also keen to ensure stability in the region as a whole. Naturally, the Council has complete confidence that the new democracies in the applicant countries will more than cope with the challenges they may come up against. The three countries mentioned have all played an important and active part through their bilateral diplomatic relations with Belarus. Furthermore, they can serve as valuable examples to Belarus when it comes to success with regard to reforms and democracy.
Like these countries, the EU has maintained that a policy which aims to isolate Belarus would militate against its own objective. Therefore, the EU has striven to keep the communication channels with the authorities in Belarus open and offer them incentives to improve relations. At the same time, the Union has continued to exert pressure for the country to honour its commitments and to give the OSCE Assistance and Monitoring Group the freedom to act when it attempts to legitimately fulfil its task. During the coming weeks, the Union will once more present its point of view directly to the authorities in Minsk. The Union will, of course, also take this opportunity to raise the issue of people who have recently disappeared."@en1
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