30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/35 
 COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1933/2006 
of 21 December 2006 
temporarily withdrawing access to th e generalised tariff preferences  
from the Republic of Belarus 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the Eu ropean Community, and in  particular Article 133 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No  980/2005 of 27 June 2005 applying a scheme of 
generalised tariff preferences 
1, and in particular Article 20(4) thereof, 
                                                 
1 OJ L 169, 30.6.2005, p. 1. 
L 405/36 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 Whereas: 
(1) Pursuant to Regulation (EC)  No 980/2005, the Republic of Belaru s (hereinafter referred to 
as "Belarus") is a beneficiar y country of the Community's scheme of generalised tariff 
preferences. 
(2) On 29 January 2003, the International Confed eration of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the 
European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)  and the World Confederation of Labour 
(WCL) made a joint request to the Commissi on for an investigation to be made under 
Article 27 of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 of 10 December 2001 applying a scheme of 
generalised tariff preferences for the peri od from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2004 – 
Statements on a Council Regula tion applying a scheme of gene ralised tariff preferences for 
the period from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 20041 into alleged vi olations of the 
freedom of association and of the right to collective bargaining in Belarus. 
(3) The Commission examined the request in c onsultation with the Generalised Preferences 
Committee and decided, by Decision of 29 December 20032, to initiate an investigation. 
Information from interested parties was sought, by means of a published notice 3. 
(4) The Belarussian authorities were formally  notified of the opening of the investigation. 
They denied any violations of International Labour Organi sation (ILO) Conventions No 87 
(concerning Freedom of Association and Protec tion of the Right to Organise) and No 98 
(concerning the Application of the Principles of the Right to Organise and to Bargain 
Collectively). 
                                                 
1 OJ L 346, 31.12.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 980/2005. 
2 Commission Decision 2004/23/EC of 29 Decembe r 2003 providing for the initiation of an 
investigation pursuant to Ar ticle 27(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 with 
respect to the violation of  freedom of association in Belarus (OJ L 5, 9.1.2004, p. 90). 
3 OJ C 40, 14.2.2004, p. 4. 
30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/37 
 (5) The information collected by the Commissi on during the course of  the investigation 
conducted in consultation with the Gene ralised Preferences Committee, however, 
corroborated the existence of serious and systematic viol ations of the freedom of 
association and of the right  to collective bargaining under ILO Conventions No 87 and 
No 98. Among other things, the Commission lear ned that ILO examined the situation in 
Belarus with respect to the two conven tions and had started its own respective 
investigation in November 2003. The resulti ng ILO Commission of Inquiry report of 
July 2004 contained 12 recommendations to undertake specific steps to improve the 
situation in Belarus. Belarus was urged to implement these recommendations  by 
1 June 2005, but no implementation took place. Based on this information and its own review, the Commission considered that a te mporary withdrawal of  the preferential 
arrangement was justified. 
(6) On 17 August 2005, the Comm ission decided to monitor a nd evaluate the labour rights 
situation in Belarus
1. The announcement of the start of the six-month period of monitoring 
and evaluation2 included a statement of the Commissi on's intention to submit a proposal to 
the Council for the temporary with drawal of the trade preferences , unless, before the end of 
the period, Belarus had made a commitment to  take the measures necessary to conform 
with the principles referred to in the 1998 IL O Declaration on Fundamental Principles and 
Rights at Work, as expressed in the twelve  recommendations in the ILO Commission of 
Inquiry report of July 2004. Th e Belarussian authorities were  notified officially of the 
decision and of the announcement. 
                                                 
1 Commission Decision 2005/616/EC of 17 Augus t 2005 on the monitoring and evaluation of 
the labour rights situation in Belarus for te mporary withdrawal of trade preferences 
(OJ L 213, 18.8.2005, p. 16). 
2 OJ C 240, 30.9.2005, p. 41. 
L 405/38 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 (7) Belarus did not make the re quisite commitment within the six-month period of monitoring 
and evaluation, nor, as described below, dur ing the months which followed. Instead, on 
30 March 2006, Belarussian authorities presen ted to the Commission a submission on the 
situation of freedom of asso ciation rights in Belarus. The Commission analysed that 
submission, but concluded that  it did not provide  sufficient evidence of commitment. 
(8) In the meantime, the ILO Governing Body adopted the Committee on Freedom of 
Association (CFA) follow-up report in March 20 06, in which the CFA pointed to the actual 
worsening of the situation of  trade unions' rights in Bela rus and urged the Belarussian 
authorities to take concrete measures immediately. 
(9) Further, the Commission received a communication, dated 16 May 2006, from the 
Belarussian authorities on the si tuation of freedom of associati on rights in Belarus. Just as 
with the submission of 30 March 2006, after a careful analysis, the Commission came to 
the conclusion that that submission did not  provide any sign of commitment or a 
convincing indication that the situation had improved. This a ssessment of the situation in 
Belarus was shared by the ILO Committee on the Application of Standards of the 
International Labour Conference in its June 2006 report, wher e it deplored the continued 
failure by the Belarussian Gove rnment to implement the recommendations and stressed the 
necessity of rapid actions so that real a nd tangible progress could be noted. Also the 
June 2006 International Labour Conference, organised under the auspices of ILO, 
classified the lack of implementation of th e 12 recommendations, which Belarus continued 
to ignore since July 2004, as a case of continued failure. This  exceptional classification is 
only used for very serious and systematic  cases of non compliance with a ratified 
convention. 
30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/39 
 (10) The Commission has carefully analysed rece nt developments in Belarus, including a letter 
from Belarus dated 14 October 2006 and submitted to the Commission on 17 October 2006. Instead of producing any effec tive commitment or clear evidence that the 
situation has improved, that letter, once again, puts forw ard possible intentions, but 
contains no indication of effective implementa tion of the principles of ILO Conventions 
No 87 and No 98. The violations of principl es laid down in the ILO Conventions No 87 
and No 98 continue to exist. 
(11) In the light of the foregoing the preferen tial arrangement for pr oducts originating in 
Belarus should be withdrawn temporarily, until it is decided that the reasons justifying the 
temporary withdrawal no longer prevail. 
(12) This Regulation should ente r into force six months after its adoption, unless it is decided 
before then that the reasons ju stifying it no l onger prevail, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
The preferential arrangement for pr oducts originating in Belarus provided for in Regulation (EC) 
No 980/2005 shall be withdrawn temporarily. 
L 405/40 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 Article 2 
The Council, acting by qualified majority, on a pr oposal from the Commissi on, shall re-establish 
the preferential arrangement for prod ucts originating in Belarus, if the violations of the freedom of 
association and of the right  to collective bargaining in  Belarus no longer exist. 
Article 3 
This Regulation shall ente r into force 21 June 2007. 
This Regulation shall be binding in  its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 
Done at Brussels, 21 December 2006. 
 For the Council 
 The President 
 J. KORKEAOJA