Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-28-Speech-3-357"
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".
Mr President, Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner had very much hoped to be with you to discuss this point. She has been highly engaged developing the Commission's activities on Belarus since we took office. On behalf of Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner and the Commission, I am pleased to have this opportunity to exchange views with you on the situation in Belarus and on the Commission's work to support democratisation and civil society.
One of the most significant developments in our assistance is our support for independent broadcasting. In response to the suggestions from this Parliament and elsewhere, starting from 1 November we shall fund a daily radio news programme. The idea is to increase awareness of human rights and democracy issues in the Belarussian population, and provide it with factual news on developments inside and outside Belarus, which would not otherwise be available. The broadcasting will kick off in Russian, and Belarussian programmes will be phased in as soon as possible.
The start of independent broadcasting is a major step, and I am delighted that we were the first donor to launch such initiatives for Belarus.
In addition, we shall open a Commission office in Minsk early next year. The office will be headed by a
. This will facilitate our contacts with local civil society and it will also assist our coordination efforts and the follow-up of our activities.
We have also looked at how best to ensure that all our policies towards Belarus are consistent and coherent. In trade we have carried out an investigation into violations of trade union rights under the Generalised System of Preferences and looked into the definition of annual textiles quotas. We also keep the EU list of senior officials covered by the visa ban under continual review.
The Commission has taken the lead in the discussions on how to improve cooperation among the donors active in Belarus. We have organised three donors meetings this year. The first one was in Vilnius in March, followed by one in Kiev in July, and the latest one was held last week in Brussels.
The process of democratisation in Belarus and the wellbeing of its people are matters that are very close to our heart and to the Commission's objectives. We are doing all we can to support those striving for the development of a democratic and pluralistic society in Belarus.
In particular, in addition to keeping up our focus on democratisation and human rights, we encourage the Belarussian democratic forces to work closely together. This is crucial in view of next year's presidential elections.
We look forward to welcoming Belarus as a full partner in the European neighbourhood policy, as soon as the country lives up to its commitments on democracy, the rule of law and human rights, not only in words but also in deeds.
The Commission is deeply concerned about the absence of democracy and the rule of law and the lack of respect for human rights in Belarus. Belarus is in clear breach of its international commitments under the OSCE and UN charters. We have recently seen a worrying deterioration in the situation. The regime restricts human rights even more and is taking further steps against non-governmental organisations, undermining the rights of minorities, imprisoning citizens for political reasons and curtailing freedom of expression.
We have condemned firmly the acts of intimidation by the Belarussian authorities against the Union of the Poles in Belarus. These incidents occur in the context of growing repression of political parties, NGOs and independent media outlets in Belarus. We believe such interference undermines minority rights, thereby contravening standards of governance to which Belarus has signed up as part of its commitments to the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe.
In addition, Belarus has introduced decrees that place even more restrictions on foreign assistance, thereby isolating itself and the Belarussian people still further.
You may ask how the Commission has reacted. In response to the growing repression in Belarus we have increased our funding for democratisation and human rights by transferring EUR 2 million from the TACIS Programme to the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights Programme, one of the two instruments which do not require the consent of the government. The TACIS Programme was refocused to address the needs of the population with the full participation of the civil society.
This year we have already signed 27 small contracts with NGOs worth EUR 3 million. We shall issue a further call for proposals under the EIDHR Programme in October, with a total budget of EUR 420 000.
We are also in the process of allocating more than EUR 1.7 million for three specific new projects for Belarus. These will be implemented by OSCE - ODIHR, the UNDP and the Nordic Council of Ministers. These projects will focus on human rights, democratisation, civil society and independent educational institutions such as the European Humanities University-in-exile.
We shall continue to address the broader needs of the population with the TACIS Programme and focus on health and social issues, higher education, training and environmental matters.
When alleviating Chernobyl-related problems, our approach is to fund project proposals put forward by the local communities."@en1
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