Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-10-26-Speech-5-007-000"
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"en.20121026.2.5-007-000"2
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".
Madam President, honourable Members, Belarus held parliamentary elections on 23 September. It will not come as a surprise to this House to hear me state my disappointment at the way they were conducted. The day after the election, the High Representative and Vice-President Ashton and I issued a joint statement expressing the European Union’s regret that Belarus had missed yet another opportunity to hold elections in line with international standards.
We therefore share the assessment of this House, expressed both in the statement by President Schultz, Chairman Brok and other Members of the European Parliament, regretting the undemocratic nature of the parliamentary elections. This assessment is also reflected in last week’s Council’s conclusions and, I expect, will also be mirrored in your resolution.
According to the assessment of the OSCE Election Observation Mission: ‘many OSCE commitments were not respected, despite some improvements to the electoral law’. It also notes that ‘while there was an increase in the number of candidates put forward by parties, prominent political figures who might have played a role in this context remained imprisoned or were not eligible to register due to their [so-called] criminal record’ – ‘so-called’ was my addition.
Our assessment of internal developments in Belarus remains pessimistic; things are not getting better, and the grip on civil society is being tightened. There is no sign of willingness by the Belarusian authorities to address our core concerns: respect for human rights, the rule of law and democratic principles. Last week the Council adopted conclusions and decisions regarding the review of restrictive measures: the so-called rollover of the existing sanctions. Both express our concern about the internal situation in Belarus as well as the state of play of the European Union’s bilateral relations with the country. The outcome of the Foreign Affairs Council also confirms the continuity of our established and consensus-based policy, namely the will to continue our policy of critical engagement and call for the immediate release and rehabilitation of all political prisoners and the discontinuation of restrictive measures, while at the same time reaching out to Belarusian society.
In the current situation, where there are few signs of progress from Minsk, we can, however, look at how to invest in the future and, at the same time, how to keep technical and diplomatic communication channels between the European Union and Belarus open. We have an interest in keeping a working relationship with Minsk. Technical dialogues and cooperation continue with the Belarusian administration, and we are keeping the country engaged within the multilateral track of the Eastern Partnership.
The main drive behind our policy is our commitment to strengthening engagement with the Belarusian people and civil society. It remains an essential aspect of investing in the future of Belarus. We must continue our engagement with Belarusian society as a whole, promoting people-to-people contacts. We are not trying to isolate the Belarusian people. It is particularly regrettable that the authorities are not taking up our offer to negotiate visa facilitation and readmission agreements between the European Union and Belarus. However, the Member States are striving to make optimal use of the flexibilities offered by the visa code to waive and reduce visa fees for some categories of Belarusian citizens or in individual cases.
The European message should be brought to as many ordinary Belarusians as possible, including through our assistance projects. This is a priority. The European dialogue on modernisation with Belarusian society is an important part of this engagement and an essential aspect of our policy, providing a rare positive element in this overall sombre picture. The participation of the Belarusian authorities in the dialogue is an issue. It is needed because their absence raises questions about the viability of the dialogue. From our side, we continue to stress to the administration that we would welcome their constructive participation at technical level.
Our financial assistance to civil society has increased five-fold since the 2010 post-electoral crackdown and clearly this cooperation still has great potential. Let me also inform you that we are currently looking at how to further rebalance and better target our aid for civil society.
In conclusion, and while fully acknowledging the challenges we face, we believe that the European Union is following a balanced approach which will allow us to have an impact on developments in Belarus and enhance the prospects for future EU-Belarus cooperation. I look forward very much to hearing your views."@en1
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