Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-19-Speech-3-508-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20110119.25.3-508-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, the events which followed the elections in Belarus on 19 December have come as a shock to all of us: the force used by the authorities against their citizens prompted statements of concern and condemnation across the world.
The third principle is that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is at the core of EU foreign policy and of the Eastern Partnership and is part of a set of common values which we share with our closest partners. We will work with those partners, as we have done with the United States, to maximise the strength of the message sent to Belarus by the international community.
Mr President, our assessment leads to a clear conclusion: that we should use our channels to convey a firm and prompt reaction. That reaction should give the authorities in Belarus a clear signal of our views, without isolating citizens and civil society. Our reaction should be a balanced one. On the one hand, we have to consider targeted measures against the Belarusian authorities and, I believe, to conduct a review of sanctions. On the other hand, we need to have an intensified dialogue with, and to support, civil society and citizens – and, in practical terms, that means continuing our assistance to NGOs, the media and students, and perhaps an increased effort to enhance mobility for citizens who wish to travel to the European Union.
In the short term, reintroducing a travel ban for President Lukashenko, and extending that ban to further named individuals, is certainly an option if detainees are not released.
With regard to intensified support for civil society, I have asked the External Action Service, in cooperation with the Commission, to prepare options for urgent measures focusing on NGOs, media and students. I know that the European Parliament has scope to provide scholarships for students expelled from university and I hope, Mr President, that this facility can be exploited. Of course we shall be trying to leverage additional resources from elsewhere, including Member States.
I mentioned earlier the issue of mobility and I am thinking in particular of visa facilitation: I want to encourage Member States’ consulates in Minsk to facilitate the delivery of visas as an ad hoc measure in the interests of Belarusian citizens.
Mr President, the short-term measures I have just described will, of course, have to be considered by the Foreign Affairs Council on 31 January, but it is not too early to reflect on some longer-term aspects of our relations with Belarus.
Firstly, I said earlier that we need to work with other international partners on this issue and that is one reason why Belarus should continue to participate in the multilateral track that we have available, and why we need to engage strongly with our Eastern Partnership countries to build a consensus on this issue.
Secondly, as far as bilateral financial assistance from the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) is concerned, we should place a stronger focus on the needs of the population and on civil society.
Finally, last year, we drew up a joint interim plan, mapping out the development of our relations with Belarus in the medium term. I believe we need to pause in this process. That does not mean abandoning the joint interim plan, but we need further consultation, including with civil society, and a review if necessary.
Mr President, this is the framework within which we are currently working. I am now very interested to hear the views of Members of Parliament.
My colleagues and I have met with many of those affected, among the opposition movement, civil society, the families of those imprisoned and the population at large. We have had the opportunity to express our sympathy and solidarity and to listen. However, honourable Members, the time has come to act.
I greatly appreciate the fact that Members of this Parliament have already been able to contribute to our reflections on this issue and that my colleague, Commissioner Füle, was able to present our current thinking to the AFET Committee last week. I am looking forward to studying the EU resolution which emerges from your debates. It is important for all of us to be as focused as possible in our thinking, given the urgency of the situation that we are addressing.
I have spent time with a number of representatives of the opposition and the wider public in Belarus, including, as I have mentioned, relatives of those detained. I have also met Foreign Minister Martynov. These conversations have left me in no doubt that the events we witnessed were an affront to our vision of respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and democracy. Not only was there unwarranted use of force, but the electoral process as a whole was also clearly undermined by the detention of civil society and opposition representatives. The assessment by the OSCE-ODIHR supports this conclusion.
Many of those detained in the last few weeks have been released. However, a significant group – as many as 30 people – still face charges that could lead to very substantial prison sentences and, as honourable Members know, that group includes some presidential candidates.
Mr President, I have already condemned the repressive measures taken by the authorities in Minsk and I have called for the immediate release of all those detained on political grounds, as well as the reopening of the OSCE office in Minsk. I have reinforced this message in a joint statement with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
In my meeting with Foreign Minister Martynov, I emphasised that the EU expects an immediate response from the Belarusian authorities to the demands of the international community. In determining the next steps we take, we need to start from basic principles.
The first of these principles is that the security and safety of peaceful activists, including presidential candidates, must be at the forefront of our minds at all times.
The second is that Belarusians are our neighbours and partners, and their interests should be paramount. While we express our concern to the authorities, we cannot isolate the people."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples