Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-01-15-Speech-4-169"
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"en.20090115.13.4-169"2
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"− Belarus remains largely ostracised by the European Union due to President Lukashenko’s authoritarian rule. In the past five years, the European Parliament has twice awarded the Sakharov Prize to Belarusian dissidents, and others have been shortlisted. This represents an explicit recognition that human rights and political freedoms are suppressed in Belarus.
Nevertheless, there are signs that Mr Lukashenko is slowly warming to the West. Naturally, the situation in Belarus still remains serious, but we need to recognise that one way of coaxing Belarus towards the European Union is to recognise and respond to Mr Lukashenko’s overtures. In short, it is a carrot-and-stick situation.
As someone with a deep interest in the former Soviet republics in Central Asia, I see parallels between that region and Belarus. This resolution does not hold back on criticism of Mr Lukashenko, but it sets out a kind of road map for him to normalise relations with the EU.
We should not be under any illusions about Belarus and we should not hesitate to break off dialogue if the situation deteriorates. But this resolution offers some hope that relations can improve over time, and for that reason I voted to support it."@en1
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