EU’s Commissioner: Belarusian authorities should fulfil some conditions to be included into European Partnership

Benita Ferrero-Waldner said about necessity of democratic development of Belarus.

Belarus should fulfil some EU’s conditions to be included into the Eastern Partnership program, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU’s Commissioner for External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy, said at a meeting with Belarusian, Ukrainian, Russia, and Moldavian journalists in Brussels on February 24.

Belarus should demonstrate democratic progress, Ms Ferrero-Waldner noted.

According to EU’s representatives, who visited Belarus last week, a progress in fulfilling EU’s conditions could be noticed in the country, the EU’s commissioner said.

The EU saw that political prisoners had been released, and that was the main condition of Europe, Ms Ferrero-Waldner said (maybe the EU’s commissioner meant former political prisoners. But there are 5 new prisoners of conscience – note of Charter’97). At the same, according to her, the EU’s representatives should study the situation in Belarus: EU’s conditions should be implemented, not just approved.

Ms Ferrero-Waldner said she would pay her first official visit to Belarus on March 12–13. According to her, if during her visit she saw progress in fulfilling EU’s conditions, a proposal on including the country into the Eastern Partnership Program would be adopted. In this case Belarus will be invited for a founding summit of the Eastern partnership project in Prague scheduled for May 7.

The European commissioner said the EU expected Belarus not to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia. If the country recognizes independence of these republics, it will move Belarus away from cooperation with the EU and create difficulties in its participation in the Eastern Partnership program.