[pic] | COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES |

Brussels, 16.11.2005

COM(2005) 582 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

OPENING OF A DELEGATION IN BELARUS

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

OPENING OF A DELEGATION IN BELARUS

1. INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE

NEGOTIATIONS ON A PARTNERSHIP AND COOPERATION AGREEMENT (PCA) BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND BELARUS WERE COMPLETED IN 1995. HOWEVER, CONCLUSION AND RATIFICATION OF THE PCA AS WELL AS AN INTERIM AGREEMENT HAVE BEEN FROZEN SINCE 1997 AFTER THE INTRODUCTION OF A SYSTEM OF POWER WITHOUT DEMOCRATIC CHECKS AND BALANCES, ACCOMPANIED BY THE INCREASING SUPPRESSION OF THE INDEPENDENT MEDIA, THE POLITICAL OPPOSITION AS WELL AS GRASS ROOT CIVIL SOCIETY.

In its conclusions of 22-23 November 2004, the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) defined the EU’s two-track approach towards Belarus:

(i) restrictions on political contacts: the GAERC reiterated that bilateral ministerial contacts between the EU and Belarus "will be established solely through the Presidency, SG/HR, the Commission and the Troika" ;

(ii) links with and assistance for civil society and the Belarusian people at large: "Community and Member States’ assistance programmes will support the needs of the population and democratisation, notably by humanitarian, regional, cross-border cooperation and by projects supporting directly or indirectly democratisation and democratic forces in Belarus".

The GAERC further underlined “that Belarus, as a direct neighbour of the European Union, has the opportunity to be an active partner of the EU in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy. The Council calls upon President Lukashenko and his government to reverse their present policies and to embark on fundamental democratic and economic reforms to bring the country closer to European common values.”

The European Neighbourhood Policy covers Belarus, but no Action Plan is currently envisaged for the country. The EU is willing to deepen its relationship with Belarus, once the Belarusian authorities clearly demonstrate their willingness to respect democratic values and the rule of law.

Against this background, Member States and the European Parliament have called upon the Commission to open a delegation in Minsk in order to, enhance the European Union’s overall presence and visibility in Belarus and to “communicate and demonstrate the benefits of the ENP to the Belarusian population at large”, as stated in the GAERC conclusions of the 22-23 November 2004.

2. OPENING OF A DELEGATION

2.1. POLITICAL CRITERIA

EU-Belarus relations progressed once the EU recognised Belarus’s independence in 1991, but began to deteriorate soon after the Presidential elections of 1994. In 1996 Mr Lukashenko reformed the constitution, concentrating powers around the President. Democratic conditions were put into question, in particular, by the replacement of the democratically elected parliament with a national assembly nominated by the President, but also through repression of the opposition and the media, and interference with the judiciary.

Parliamentary elections in 2000 and Presidential elections in September 2001 were regarded by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe - Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE-ODIHR) as neither free nor fair. The EU subscribed to this assessment. Parliamentary elections and parallel referendum on a constitutional change in October 2004 failed to meet international standards for democratic elections. The referendum enabled President Lukashenko to stand as a candidate again in the next (2006) and subsequent Presidential elections.

The situation with regard to human rights and democracy in Belarus remains a matter of grave concern and has recently further deteriorated. In the run-up to the 2006 Presidential election, the Belarusian authorities have tightened their grip on civil society and in particular on the media, opposition forces and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). In addition, delivery of assistance from international donors is severely constrained.

2.2. Delivery of assistance

Until the end of 2004, in accordance with the EU Council’s 1997 conclusions on Belarus, EC technical assistance (like Member States’ assistance) was limited "to humanitarian or regional projects or those which directly support the democratisation process”. Between 1991 and 2005 well over €220 million was made available specifically to Belarus.

The November 2004 GAERC Conclusions on Belarus called for more active EU engagement to support the needs of the population and democratisation in Belarus. They stated that the Commission will continue and further intensify its efforts with regard to assistance to Belarus in order to meet the challenges arising from the self-isolation of Belarus.

In line with the GAERC Conclusions of November 2004, the Commission has put in place a two-track assistance policy, on the one hand increasing assistance to civil society and NGOs and on the other, focusing on actions to address the needs of the population. In the process, a pragmatic and well-targeted division of labour between the relevant EC instruments has been established.

Assistance to support democratisation and democratic forces is being delivered through the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) programme and the Decentralised Cooperation instrument, which do not require the agreement of the Belarusian authorities.

Assistance to support the needs of the population, and thereby indirectly support democratisation in Belarus, is being delivered through the TACIS programme, for which endorsement by the authorities is required. Activities under the TACIS programme are being implemented with the full involvement of Belarusian civil society.

At present, the assistance programmes for Belarus are being implemented through the Commission's delegation in Kiev, which is accredited to Belarus, together with its TACIS Branch Office in Minsk, which plays a role in the management of technical assistance. The delegation in Kiev and the TACIS Branch Office in Minsk also play a role in disseminating information on the EU and the European Neighbourhood Policy in Belarus.

The opening of a delegation in Minsk will further facilitate the administration of Community assistance to Belarus through the various instruments used, allowing the Commission to follow up more closely the registration of projects and other procedural requirements as appropriate, and to establish an effective working relationship with the various actors in project implementation on the ground. The opening of a delegation will further allow the Commission to play a more active role in disseminating information to the Belarusian population.

2.3. Human and budgetary resources

The delegation in Belarus will be a regionalised delegation with a Chargé d’affaires ad interim who will be assigned on a permanent post, redeployed from the delegations network. The Chargé d’affaires a.i. will work under the authority of the Head of the Commission Delegation in Ukraine.

The human and budgetary resources for opening this delegation will be covered by the current resources allocated to the External Service, redeployed from other delegations.

The delegation’s organisation chart will include an Operational Section, building on the existing TACIS Technical Office for Belarus, which is based in Minsk and attached to the delegation in Ukraine, plus an Administrative Section. The Finance and Contracts Section will be based in Kiev, with the regional delegation in charge.

In all, the delegation will consist of one official (the Chargé d' affaires a.i. ), two contract agents and seven local agents.

2.4. Conclusion

The opening of a delegation would allow the Commission to follow the political situation in Belarus more closely. It would also deliver increased EU financial assistance in a more efficient and targeted manner in fields that will contribute to fostering the democratic process. Another important consideration is to increase the visibility of the European Commission assistance, and to improve the flow of information amongst the population on the benefits to be reaped from the ENP.

SIMPLIFIED FINANCIAL STATEMENT

Political fields (s): EXTERNAL RELATIONS Activity (s): External service |

DENOMINATION OF THE ACTION: COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT - OPENING OF A DELEGATION IN BELARUS. |

1. BUDGET LINES(S) + HEADING(S)

XX.010102: Expenditure related to staff in active employment of Community delegations

XX.010202: External staff of Community delegations

XX.010212: Other management expenditure of Community delegations

XX.010302: Buildings and related expenditure of Community delegations

19.010407 : Assistance to partner countries in eastern Europe and central Asia — Expenditure on administrative management

2. GLOBAL FINANCIAL FIGURES

2.1 Total budget of the action: 0,562 Mio EUR in Commitment appropriations (CA) in 2005, 0,525 Mio EUR in 2006 and annually thereafter.

Of these amounts, it is considered that the expenditure to be met by budget line 19.010407 would be 0,198 Mio EUR in CA in 2005, and 0,168 Mio EUR in 2006 and annually thereafter.

2.2 Period of application

The opening of a delegation envisaged in this communication will be initiated as soon as possible and will be completed during the financial year 2005. The Delegation will consist of one official, chargé d’affaires a.i ., two contract agents and seven local agents. Referring to the opening of a new Delegation, there is no end date foreseen for the action.

2.3 Global multi-annual estimate of expenditure

a) Summary of commitment appropriations (CA) and payment appropriations (PA) – (financial contribution)

Mio EUR ( to 3 decimal places)

Year n | n + 1 | n + 2 | n + 3 | n + 4 | n + 5 and later | Total |

Commitment appropriations (CA) | 0,562 | 0,525 | 0,525 | 0,525 | 0,525 | 0,525 | 3,187 |

Payment appropriations (PA) | 0,562 | 0,525 | 0,525 | 0,525 | 0,525 | 0,525 | 3,187 |

b) Technical and administrative assistance and supporting expenditure (NDA)

CA | 0,000 | 0,000 | 0,000 | 0,000 | 0,000 | 0,000 | 0,000 |

PA | 0,000 | 0,000 | 0,000 | 0,000 | 0,000 | 0,000 | 0,000 |

Sub-total a+b |

CA | 0,562 | 0,525 | 0,525 | 0,525 | 0,525 | 0,525 | 3,187 |

PA | 0,562 | 0,525 | 0,525 | 0,525 | 0,525 | 0,525 | 3,187 |

2.4 Compatibility with the financial programming and the financial perspectives

Proposal compatible with the existing financial programming.

The proposal will entail reprogramming of the relevant heading in the financial perspective.

Including, where applicable, recourse to the provisions of the inter-institutional agreement.

Type of expenditure: this involves defining the economic classification of expenditure by distinguishing current expenditure from capital expenditure. This classification allows a better distinction between budgetary accounting and general accounting.

Current expenditure: related to the charges of the financial year.

Capital expenditure: related to balance sheet entries. Which type of is activity is this expenditure intended to finance?

3. BUDGETARY CHARACTERISTICS

Type of expenditure | New | EFTA participation | Applicant country participation | Heading in financial perspective |

Non- Comp | NDA | YES | NO | NO | N° 4 (19.010407) N° 5 (ex-title A6) |

4. LEGAL BASIS

Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communities, and in particular its Articles 27 to 31, 33 and 65 (a) and its annexes III, VII and X.

Conditions of employment of other servants of the European Communities.

5. DESCRIPTION AND JUSTIFICATION

5.1 Need for a Community intervention [1]

5.1.1 Objectives

It is considered necessary to open a Delegation in Belarus in order to improve the follow up of the political situation in the country; to ensure a more efficient and well targeted assistance to the democratic process, to civil society and to the needs of the population ; to increase the visibility of the European Union and of the Commission in Belarus ; to facilitate the dissemination of information amongst the population on the potential benefits of the European Neighbourhood Policy.

5.1.2 Provisions linked to the ex-ante evaluation

The opening of new delegations is decided on the basis of the needs in terms of the evolution of the economic and political relations of the Community with the countries in question and in close cooperation with all the services and other Directorates-General concerned.

5.1.3 Provisions linked to the a posteriori evaluation

The delegation in question will be part of the "network" of delegations of the Commission and thus will be subject to controls within the framework of the visits of the Inspection of the Delegations and of the Internal Control unit of the External Service.

5.2 Actions envisaged and methods of the budgetary intervention

Concerns administrative expenditure related to the opening of a new delegation. The additional expenditure for the financial years 2005 and 2006 will be financed from the existing appropriations by making savings on other expenditure. These actions will lead to the improvement of political and economic relations with the country in question and will enable the Commission to better manage its activities in this country.

5.3 Implementing modalities

As for all the administrative expenditure of the delegations, management will be by centralized direct method by the Commission, using statutory and external (local) staff.

[1] For more information, see the separate guidance document.