EU denies loans to Belarusian dictator

The European Investment Bank (EIB) stops issuing loans to Belarus in connection with pressure on the Union of Poles and scheduled consideration of this problem in the EU Council.

The Council is to take a decision whether loaning programmes for Belarus should be reduced or blocked. It was planned to give Belarus loans at a total sum of 1 billion euros.

As of now, Belarus expressed its interest in EIB’s €500-million aid to support economic projects. In particular, to finance the joint Belarusian-German project on upgrading of the Belarusian railway and construction of electricity transmission line Bialystok–Ros, “Nasha Niva” reports referring to Gazeta Wyborcza.

Marta Gajecka, EIB Vice-President, said a part of the credits could have been granted to Belarusian banks to support programmes of medium and small business development.

The European Investment Bank was created by the EU member states. It gives loans on more favourable terms than commercial banks. The Bank planned to implement €3.7-million projects in Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus until 2013.

We remind that Law and Justice, the party of Polish President Lech Kaczynski calls on Brussels to impose trade embargo against Belarus for violation of the right of the Polish minority and repression against the opposition in the country.

On February 17, the Sejm of Poland adopted a resolution condemning actions of the Belarusian authorities. “Taking into account the new wave of repressions against the Union of Poles in Belarus and Union’s activists, the parliament finds it necessary to return to sanctions in relation to Belarus,” says the resolution proposed by Marshal of the Sejm Bronislaw Komorowski.

Polish MFA Secretary Of State Jan Borkowski, stated the day before: “Belarusian authorities face a choice: to follow democratic standards existing in the Council of Europe and the EU, or reject them, and then we would have to make more resolute steps including economic sanctions”.