The Council of the European Union decided to prolong the existing restrictive measures on Belarus until 31 October 2013 due to the fact that not all political prisoners have been released and the lack of improvement with regards to the respect for human rights, the rule of law and democratic principles. However, the Council noted that restrictive measures 'remain open and under constant review'. When speaking at a news conference in Lux... More »

In late July Belarusian Foreign Minister Siarhei Martynau paid an official visit to Italy where he met with the president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Riccardo Migliori. The meeting focused on the international observation of the parliamentary election that is scheduled for 23 September. Mr. Migliori expressed hope that the elections would “register significant progress on the democratic process and human rights with respect to r... More »

On 5 June, Filip Kaczmarek (EPP, Poland) was elected new chair of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with Belarus. He replaces Jacek Protasiewicz, who is taking up his new duties as vice-president of the European Parliament. EU relations with Belarus have never been easy and official political cooperation has gone from bad to worse since the presidential elections of 2010. “Our task in the coming months will be to suppor... More »

On 16 April, the first working seminar of the European Dialogue for Modernisation took place in Warsaw. It was inaugurated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Radek Sikorski, and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, Štefan Füle. In his opening remarks, the Commissioner stated that the EU would continue its tough approach towards the government of Belarus until all political prisoners are relea... More »

Siarhei Kavalenka during his trial in Vitsebsk. On 24 February, Kavalenka was sentenced to two years and one month in prison for alleged parole violations. He had been originally sentenced in January 2010 to three years of "limited freedom" for "illegally displaying the banned Belarusian national flag" in a public place. Photo by Belapan.com More »

This expert forum will discuss the European Union's policies on Belarus in the context of the latest developments in the country. The European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, Štefan Füle, will present his views on existing EU policy towards Belarus and its prospects for success. Two panels with prominent Belarusian and European experts, including Pavel Daneyko, Director of the Belarusian Economic Research... More »

The International Monetary Fund has completed its visit to Belarus. Chris Jarvis, who led a two-week long mission, said the country needs to show its commitment to market reforms and prove it with concrete steps to get a bailout from the fund. The IMF called on Belarusian authorities to cut inflation which was eating away at ordinary Belarusians' incomes and raised inflationary expectations, and to continue cutting state spending and in... More »

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka pardoned another 11 opposition activists who were sentenced to jail terms for their involvement in protests in December against his re-election. He plans to release all opposition activists by the beginning of October to improve relations with western countries. According to Reuters, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov received this message from Lukashenka during his discrete visit to M... More »

While Russia is increasing its efforts to push Belarus into its geostrategic orbit even further, Europe appears to have taken the "wait and see approach". The latest arms embargo and sanctions targeting Belarusian companies is a moral gesture, which will have little effect in Belarus. Those who wish to see change in Belarus may be losing the momentum. Russia is pressing Belarus to privatise its most lucrative assets. The highly profitab... More »

The European Union strengthened sanctions against Belarus during a meeting of foreign ministers on Monday by placing a further 13 individuals on the list of designated persons subject to travel restrictions and an assets freeze. The new names are judges and prosecutors who have been involved in recent trials of opposition presidential candidates. During the meeting the foreign ministers failed to agree on economic sanctions on companies... More »