On 15 March, Russian Prime-Minister Vladimir Putin arrived in Belarus with a one-day working visit to take part in a session of the Council of Ministers of the Belarus-Russia Union State and a meeting of the Interstate Council of the Eurasian Economic Community – the supreme body of the customs union between Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. He also held talks with President Lukashenka. Russian Prime Minister‟s plane was an hour and a ha... Болей »

A round table "Belarus after the election: Revo-lution, Stagnation or Reform" was held in Brus-sels on 24 November 2010. The event was organized by the Office for a Democratic Belarus, in collaboration with the Centre for European Policy Studies and the European office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung with the support of the Open Society Institute and the Consortium EuroBelarus. It was attended by members of the European Parliament, re... Болей »

Promoting Visa-Free Regime for Belarus and Other Countries of the Eastern Partnership. In its statement of 25 October, the Council of the European Union underlined the importance of enhanced contacts between people and expressed its interest in receiving the European Commission's proposals for the negotiating directives for visa facilitation and readmission agreements with Belarus. The Office for a Democratic Belarus (ODB) strongly welc... Болей »

ČR, Belarus Promote Diplomatic Missions to Embassies. The Czech Republic and Belarus have promoted their diplomatic missions to the usual level of embassies, which indicates improvement of relations, as indicated on the official website of the Belarusian President Office and the Czech Foreign Ministry. The relations were tense due to Prague's serious criticism of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's authoritarian regime. As a result, the d... Болей »

Belarus Sets Presidential Election for 19 December. Belarus lawmakers on Tuesday voted to hold a presidential election on December 19. The date was approved by 108 of 110 deputies in the Parliament. Eight Politicians Reaffirmed Their Intention to Run for the Post Following the Belarusian Parliament's decision regarding the date for the presidential elections, eight Belarusian politicians reaffirmed their intention to run for presidency.... Болей »

Seminar “Interaction between the Labour Market and Education in Belarus” Takes Place in Minsk. On 24 June 2010, the European Training Foundation, in cooperation with the Delegation of the European Union to Belarus and the Office for Democratic Belarus (Brussels, Belgium), organised a joint seminar entitled ― "Interaction between the Labour Market and Education in Belarus". The aim of the event was to present an independent study conduct... Болей »

EU Transport Policy: Sharing Knowledge with Belarus. On the invitation of the Office for a Democratic Belarus, a group of Belarusian experts on transport visited Brussels on May 17-21, 2010. The delegation that consisted of two former Ministers of Transport of the Republic of Belarus, Assistant Professor of Logistics and Pricing Policy of the Belarusian State Economic University, Head of the Auditing Department of ―MinskTrans – the larg... Болей »

Belarus Votes in Local Election. On Sunday, 25 of April, Belarusian voters went to the polls to elect members of local councils. Although 21,303 seats on local councils were contested, there were only an estimated 365 opposition candidates competing against the progovernment candidates. Dozens of opposition candidates withdrew from the elections after claiming that the authorities were obstructing their campaigns. Altogether, 25,035 can... Болей »

“Energy Club”: Prospective Strategies for Development Alternative Energy Sources. The discussions of the second meeting of the "Energy Club", which took place in Minsk in March 2010, centred around strategies for the use of alternative energy in Europe and Belarus. The meeting was organized by the Office for a Democratic Belarus (Belgium) in partnership with the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies (Lithuania) and the Delegation o... Болей »

The Energy Sector in Belarus. Only 13 to15% of supplies are provided from Belarus’ own resources. The main type of fuel used in the country is a natural gas, which is purchased in Russia. Its share in the fuel mix is 75-80%. Belarus is not the only country in Europe which depends on Russian energy supplies. The same applies to the Baltic States, as well as a number of Central European states. However, none of these countries has such a ... Болей »