European Union named preconditions for rapprochement with Belarus

Absence of political prisoners, reform of the electoral law and freedom of the media are among the main conditions of the EU.

The relations of the EU and Belarus are to depend on carrying out a number of democratic reforms in the country, said on Tuesday the Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fuele.

“Our interaction with Belarus will mostly depend on carrying out a number of democratic reforms in five areas most important for the democracy: absence of political prisoners, reform of the electoral code, freedom of the press and NGOs, abolishment of the death penalty,” said Stefan Fuele in his speech in Columbia University in the City of New York, RIA Novosti informs.

The text of his speech was published by the press-service of the European Commission.

“To isolate a country in the centre of Europe – it had not been made so far, and it won’t happen in the future. That is why we are looking for the ways of serious interaction with Belarus, focusing attention on the reforms which we found essential,” the European Commissioner said.

Mr Fuele told that the EU will closely follow the presidential election in Belarus scheduled for December 19.

Belarus takes part in the Eastern Partnership programme of the EU, launched in May 2009 in Prague. The programme is aimed at political and economic rapprochement of the EU with Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, but does not includes their membership in the EU.