Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-10-27-Speech-3-119"
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"en.20041027.8.3-119"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it is abundantly obvious that the elections and the referendum in Belarus were conducted in a manner that violated all the principles of the rule of law and of democracy. We all know what happened. The events have been described to us by the Council, the Commission and individual Members of this House. We need to be honest with ourselves, however, and admit that this is also a failure for the European Union’s policy on Belarus so far. Furthermore, it is an unusually vivid example of what could happen to Ukraine if we do not carry out far-reaching reforms of our neighbourhood policy towards the latter. The history of Belarus since 1996 is an extremely alarming example of what could happen in this region, above all in Ukraine.
What action can now be taken? Above all, major changes are needed. Firstly, we should not recognise the results of either the elections or the referendum. Indeed, none of the EU Member States should do so. Secondly, we must extend the list of people whom we do not wish to see in EU Member States to include members of the Belarussian authorities. Thirdly, this issue must be raised at summits held between the European Union and Russia. Russia has recognised the results of the elections, and exercises political patronage over this political experiment in the heart of Europe.
It is also vital to invest in society, and we must make major investments in civil society. In order to do so, I believe a separate fund to support freedom and democracy is needed. We must have the courage and sufficient funding to set up an independent radio station broadcasting to Belarussians. The Belarussian intelligentsia is currently stifled in its own country. We must have sufficient funding to enable these individuals to study throughout Europe and to build a future for their country whenever such an opportunity arises, and whenever Belarus regains its independence. This will be an investment in our common European future, a future in which I believe deeply. If we do not make this investment, the United States will. In so doing, it will gain the good will of yet another country of Central and Eastern Europe. Personally, I would be very glad to see this happen, but I know many European politicians would not welcome such a development. Many thanks."@en1
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