Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-03-14-Speech-3-555-000"
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"en.20120314.28.3-555-000"2
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"Mr President, I am very glad to be here today to discuss the situation in Belarus on behalf of High Representative/Vice-President Ashton.
The engagement with Belarusian civil society, the political opposition and the public at large is a crucial element of the EU’s policies.
We remain ready to launch negotiations for visa facilitation and readmission agreements which would enhance people-to-people contacts to the benefit of the Belarusian population. It is regrettable that the Belarusian authorities have so far failed our invitation to start negotiations.
We will also step up our dialogue with civil society and the political opposition through a ‘European dialogue on modernisation’ with the Belarusian society on necessary reforms for the modernisation of Belarus and on the related potential development of relations with the European Union, as well as possible EU support in this regard. The European Union and its Member States want to reach out to Belarus and to share their successful experience of transition to democracy and market economy. Once conditions are ripe, the EU will also be ready to provide the right conditions for EU companies and financial institutions to support the country’s transformation and to invest in Belarus’s future privatisation process.
The European dialogue will be launched in Brussels on 29 March in Brussels: what we want to achieve is an open exercise taking in all political forces, and civil society, with substantial involvement by EU Member States.
In difficult times, it is important to maintain channels also of communication and information. This is why the EU upgraded its delegation in Minsk last summer.
Further to the request by the Belarusian authorities on 28 February that the EU Head of Delegation and the Ambassador of Poland should leave the country for consultations, the European Union agreed in a determined act of solidarity to withdraw all EU ambassadors for consultations. Our ambassadors fulfil a crucial function on the ground in Belarus as channels of communication and information and we remain committed to a unified and coordinated approach also to the issue of their return.
Unfortunately, nothing has happened until now to encourage us to change our policies towards the authorities in Minsk. Not the release of political prisoners and their rehabilitation. The persecution of opposition figures since the elections of December 2010 continues. Breaches of human rights continue. And, yes, further sanctions will probably not improve our bilateral relations with Minsk. This is regrettable but it is unavoidable if we are to remain true to our values.
I can only thank the honourable Members for their determination to face this difficult issue head-on. We owe it to the people of Belarus to show that we have solidarity with them in these difficult times and that there will be a European future when conditions allow.
The support of Members of this House in the unfolding situation in Belarus since the presidential elections of 19 December 2010 has been crucial to keep the issue high on the EU’s agenda. It has also been crucial to maintain the political pressure on Belarus to change its current repressive policies and to take the necessary steps, which would allow it to find its proper place in European cooperation. We look forward to examining the resolution that this House will adopt tomorrow.
The European Union is increasingly concerned about the continued lack of respect for human rights and the rule of law in Belarus. Over the last months, the situation has gone from bad to worse, with further repressive measures and policies towards civil society and political opposition.
There are many concerns. The first of them is the immediate and unconditional release of all 12 political prisoners and their rehabilitation. The presence of political prisoners in the heart of Europe is a shame.
We are also deeply concerned about reports of torture and inhumane prison conditions of political prisoners. The Belarusian authorities are under an absolute obligation to ensure the respect of the prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment and have a responsibility to investigate reports thereof.
All harassment of members of the opposition, and of civil society, must stop, and their freedom of movement cannot be impeded. The increasingly draconian legislation that will further restrict the Belarusian citizens’ freedoms of assembly and association, as well as provision of support to civil society, must be rolled back.
Belarus remains the only country in Europe to still apply capital punishment. As already highlighted in this House, the European Union remains opposed to capital punishment under all circumstances. Along the lines of the Parliament’s resolution of 16 February, the European Union calls on the authorities of Belarus not to carry out the executions of Dmitry Konovalov and Vladislav Kovalyov, and to introduce a moratorium on capital punishment in view of its eventual abolition.
The EU’s policies are principled. We remain committed to a visible and united defence of our values – human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. It is clear that we cannot stay idle in face of developments in a country that is neighbouring three of our Member States.
The EU’s restrictive measures are an important instrument to keep up political pressure, to strengthen our political message to Belarus. The European Union has repeatedly stressed that they remain open and under constant review. In January, the Council expanded the criteria to target those responsible for serious violations of human rights, the repression of civil society and opposition and persons or entities benefiting from or supporting the regime. As highlighted by High Representative/Vice-President Ashton after the February Foreign Affairs Council, work is currently ongoing in view of a decision to be taken by the 23 March Foreign Affairs Council, on the basis of a list of business interests supporting the regime or drawing benefits from it.
We have made clear that the EU’s policies are not directed against Belarus as such, nor against its people. The EU maintains its policy of critical engagement, including through dialogue and the Eastern Partnership. We remain ready to develop our bilateral relations, depending on progress made by the authorities towards the respect for the principles of democracy, human rights and rule of law. As highlighted by High Representative/Vice-President Ashton in her joint statement with Secretary of State Clinton in December 2011, the European Union remains willing to assist Belarus to meet its obligations in this regard."@en1
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