EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 46/107

EU strategy towards Belarus

P6_TA(2009)0027

European Parliament resolution of 15 January 2009 on the EU strategy towards Belarus

(2010/C 46 E/16)

The European Parliament,

— having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Belarus, in particular that of 9 October 2008 on the situation in Belarus after the parliamentary elections of 28 September 2008 (1),

— having regard to the Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on Council Common Position 2008/844/CFSP of 10 November 2008 amending Common Position 2006/276/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against certain officials of Belarus (2),

— having regard to the GAERC conclusions on Belarus of 13 October 2008 lifting the ban on political contacts with the Belarusian authorities and suspending the visa ban for six months for Belarusian officials, including President Alexander Lukashenko,

— having regard to the Council's Annual Report on Human Rights 2008, of 27 November 2008 (14146/2/2008),

— having regard to the Commission Communication to the European Parliament and the Council of 3 December 2008 concerning the Eastern Partnership Initiative (COM(2008)0823),

— having regard to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Election Observation Mission Final Report of 27 November 2008 on the parliamentary elections in Belarus of 28 September 2008,

— having regard to Rule 103(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the Council, in its above-mentioned conclusions of 13 October 2008, confirmed hopes of a gradual re-engagement with Belarus and its readiness to develop a dialogue with the Belarusian authorities, and with other political forces in the country, with the aim of fostering genuine progress towards democracy and respect for human rights,

B. whereas, in order to foster dialogue with the Belarusian authorities and the adoption of positive measures to strengthen democracy and respect for human rights, the Council has decided that the travel restrictions imposed on certain Belarusian Government officials, with the exception of those involved in the disappearances that occurred in 1999 and 2000 and of the Chair of the Central Election Commission, will not apply for a period of six months, which may be renewed,

C. whereas, in response to the positive steps taken by Belarus, the Commission has already entered into an intensified dialogue with that country in fields such as energy, the environment, customs, transport and food safety and confirmed its readiness to further expand the scope of those technical talks, which are beneficial for both sides,

D. whereas the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission stated in its final report that, although there had been some minor improvements, the elections of 28 September 2008, which took place in a strictly controlled environment with a barely visible campaign and were marked by a lack of transparency in vote counting and in aggregating results from various polling stations, ultimately fell short of internationally recognised democratic standards; whereas Lidziya Yarmoshyna, Chair of the Central Election Commission, admitted that the September 2008 elections did not receive ‘full and unconditional recognition as complying with international standards from European partners’ and therefore the ‘utmost goal’ of the elections had not been met,

E. whereas the Commission has launched the ‘Eastern Partnership Initiative’ to step up cooperation with a number of Eastern European countries, including Belarus subject to fulfilment by that country of specific criteria relating to democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law,

F. whereas the Belarusian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Syarhei Martynau, has declared that ‘Belarus has a positive view on participation in the Eastern Partnership Initiative’ and added that Belarus intends to participate in this initiative,

G. whereas the Belarusian authorities have imposed a one-year ‘restricted freedom’ sentence on opposition activist Alyaksandr Barazenka in response to his role in a demonstration held in January 2008,

H. whereas the Belarusian authorities deny a growing number of Protestant and Roman Catholic priests and nuns the right to practise a preaching and teaching ministry,

1. Welcomes the decision by the Belarusian authorities to register the ‘For Freedom’ movement headed by former Belarusian presidential candidate Aliaksandr Milinkevich; hopes that the Belarusian Government will improve conditions governing the registration and work of other non-governmental groups, including political parties and the ‘Nasha Viasna’ human rights organisation;

2. Welcomes the decision by the Belarusian authorities to allow the printing and distribution of the two independent newspapers, Narodnaia Volia and Nasha Niva; points out, at the same time, that there are still 13 independent newspapers awaiting registration; welcomes the decision by the Belarusian Government to discuss the international Internet media standards and to consult the Belarusian Association of Journalists on these issues; hopes that suitable conditions will also be created for the work of other independent media in Belarus, including possibilities for advertising;

3. Notes Belarus' readiness to discuss in detail the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations regarding improvements to the electoral law; considers this an important and encouraging step on the part of Belarus and looks forward to its swift implementation and to further steps in line with the EU's expectations;

4. Welcomes the release of political prisoners in Belarus, but deplores the fact that Alyaksandr Kazulin, Sergei Parsyukevich and Andrei Kim do not enjoy all the rights guaranteed to Belarusian citizens by the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus and, as in the case of Alyaksandr Barazenka, who was held in custody for weeks awaiting trial for his participation in a January 2008 demonstration, also criticises the fact that some other activists remain subject to various forms of restrictions on their freedom;

5. Welcomes the Belarusian authorities' decision to temporarily lift the travel ban on a number of victims of the Chernobyl disaster, in order to allow them to participate in rest and recuperation programmes, and hopes that in the longer term a structural solution can be found; urges the Czech Presidency to make it a priority to negotiate an EU-wide agreement with the Belarusian authorities allowing children to travel from Belarus to any EU Member State organising such recuperation programmes;

6. Points out that in order to significantly improve relations with the EU, Belarus should (1) remain a country without political prisoners, (2) guarantee freedom of expression for the media, (3) continue to cooperate with the OSCE on reform of the electoral law, (4) improve conditions for the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and (5) guarantee freedom of assembly and political association;

7. Urges the Belarusian Government to respect human rights by: a) making vitally needed changes to the Belarus Criminal Code by abolishing Articles 367, 368, 369-1 and, in particular, Article 193, which are often misused as a means of repression; b) refraining from threatening criminal prosecution, including for avoiding military service in Belarus, against students expelled from universities for their civic stance and thereby obliged to continue their studies abroad; c) eliminating all obstacles to the proper registration of NGOs in Belarus; abolishing the ban on the use of private apartments as the address for registration of non-profit associations; and reconsidering Presidential Decree No 533 of 23 October 2007 regulating the use of office facilities by NGOs and political parties; d) improving the treatment of and respect for national minorities, including recognition of the legitimately elected body of the Union of Poles in Belarus, led by Angelika Borys, culture, churches, the education system and the historical and material heritage, in order to end the country's self-imposed isolation from the rest of Europe and in order for relations between the EU and Belarus to improve significantly;

8. Stresses that the democratic opposition must be part of the process of gradual re-engagement with Belarus;

9. Calls on the Council and Commission to take further steps to liberalise visa procedures for Belarusian citizens, as such action is crucial to fulfilling the main goal of EU policy towards Belarus, namely intensifying people-to-people contacts that in turn facilitate the democratisation of the country; urges them, in this context, to consider the scope for reducing the cost of visas for Belarusian citizens entering the Schengen Area and simplifying the procedure for obtaining them;

10. Calls on the Council and Commission to consider applying the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (3) and the European Instrument for Human Rights and Democracy (4) to Belarus selectively by extending more support to Belarusian civil society, to urge the Belarusian Government, as a sign of goodwill and positive change, to enable the Belarusian ‘European Humanities University’ in exile in Vilnius (Lithuania) to return legally to Belarus and re-establish itself under suitable conditions for its future development in Minsk, to grant financial support to the independent Belarusian television channel Belsat, and to urge the Belarusian Government to officially register Belsat in Belarus;

11. Calls on the Council and Commission, in this context, to consider measures to improve the business climate, trade, investment, energy and transport infrastructure and cross-border cooperation between the EU and Belarus, so as to contribute to the well-being and prosperity of the citizens of Belarus and enhance their ability to communicate with and freely travel to the EU;

12. Calls on the Council and Commission to consider the participation of the European Investment Bank in investing in Belarusian energy transit infrastructure; stresses the importance of participation by European companies in the privatisation process in Belarus;

13. Calls on the Belarusian authorities to strictly observe international safety standards and requirements during the process of building a new nuclear power plant; calls on Belarus to ratify the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Additional Protocol to the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement; calls on the Commission to monitor and to report to it and the Member States on compliance by Belarus with the IAEA recommendations and the requirements of the Convention on Nuclear Safety and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and on the effects the operation of the nuclear power plant could have on neighbouring EU Member States;

14. Deplores the repeated decisions by the Belarusian authorities over the last couple of years to refuse entrance visas to Members of the European Parliament and national parliamentarians; calls on the Belarusian authorities not to create any further obstacles which serve to prevent its Delegation for relations with Belarus from visiting the country;

15. Welcomes the approach taken so far by the Belarusian authorities, despite enormous pressure, not to recognise the unilateral declarations of independence issued by South Ossetia and Abkhazia;

16. Condemns the fact that, contrary to UN values, Belarus is the only country in Europe which still has the death penalty;

17. Calls on the Belarusian authorities to respect freedom of religion; condemns the fact that European citizens, including priests, are being repeatedly expelled from Belarus, which is contrary to the confidence-building process with the EU;

18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the parliaments and governments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Parliamentary Assemblies of the OSCE and the Council of Europe, the Secretariat of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Parliament and Government of Belarus.

(1) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0470.

(2) OJ L 300, 11.11.2008, p. 56.

(3) Regulation (EC) No 1638/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2006 laying down general provisions establishing a European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (OJ L 310, 9.11.2006, p. 1).

(4) Regulation (EC) No 1889/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on establishing a financing instrument for the promotion of democracy and human rights worldwide (OJ L 386, 29.12.2006, p. 1).