Poland and Germany issue joint declaration on Belarus

The heads of the Polish and German foreign affairs committees in the respective parliaments have issued a joint declaration on the recent elections in Belarus.

The declaration, which was put forward from both the Bundestag and the Sejm, states that the presidential elections in Belarus held a “complete lack of respect for European values and standards.”

The declaration also appeals to other foreign ministers in the EU to hold a joint meeting of the European Council in order to discuss the situation in Belarus and decide on what steps to take as a result.

In the joint declaration it is stated that Lithuania, which takes on the leadership of the OSCE as of next year, is urged to push for more OSCE activity in Belarus, with the support of Poland and Germany.

Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Polish Parliament (Sejm), Andrzej Halicki told Polish Radio that there is also a meeting planned with the Russian Duma’s head of the International Affairs Committee, Konstantin Kosachev.

“We need to take action in order to eliminate the terror in Belarus,” Halicki said, adding that “I think that it is the least we can expect from the Russian authorities.”

According to Halicki, the Polish, German and Russian committee heads may meet in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad on either the 21 or 22 February.

In the joint declaration, it was also mooted that Belarusian citizens who are directly in danger of persecution from the authorities in Minsk should be allowed to enter the EU without first acquiring a visa.

The move is complimentary to the Polish government’s announcement that it would drop the visa entry fee for ordinary Belarusian citizens wanting to enter Poland.