European Union upheld 12 conditions to Belarusian regime

Ambassadors of the EU to Belarus expect concrete actions for democratization from Belarusian authorities.

“We al need a very deep dialogue. The European Union is ready to go very deep in establishing a dialogue, and we need the same profundity from Belarus,” said Ambassador of Spain (the country holding the EU presidency in first half of 2010) to Belarus Juan Antonio March Pujol at a press-conference in Minsk. Among other participants of the press-conference were British Ambassador Rosemary Thomas, Hungarian Ambassador Ferenc Kontra, and Jean-Eric Holzapfel, charge d’affaires of the European Commission delegation in Belarus, Radio Svaboda informs.

Spanish Ambassador to Belarus Juan Antonio March Pujol has noted that the Eastern Partnership is a format in which relations between Belarus and the European Union could develop successfully. He believes that a global dialogue in all spheres should be established. We remind that since January 1 Spain is presiding in the European Union.

“In the degree in which Belarus would be able to make relations with the European Union deeper, it would find that the EU represented by Spain, would be ready to make relevant efforts,” said the Spanish ambassador.

He also noted that participants of the Customs Union could be able to join the WTO separately.

“To our mind, it would be easier for the countries to join the WTO separately,” the Ambassador said.

The Spanish diplomat reminded that the EU had been created as an economic organization. “However it was not a closed club, but an open zone where economic processes were coordinated, which gave relief to economies of different countries,” Juan Antonio March Pujol underlined. “We would welcome the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia would develop in the same vain”.

Answering the question of Radio Svaboda, Hungarian Ambassador Ferenc Kontra stated that the well-known 12 conditions of the European Union to Belarus remain in force.

Spanish Ambassador Belarus Juan Antonio March Pujol underlined that development of the relations between Belarus and the EU could be improved “by adoption of the common values of the EU in the issues of the state development and one of the important aspects of this development is democracy”. He noted a possibility of free election and existence of political parties. As said by him, these things could contribute to developing the dialogue.

Ambassadors of the EU countries are set to meet with Belarus’ Foreign Minister Syarhei Martynau. At the meeting they are to discuss issues related to economic crisis, the Spanish Ambassador noted. British Ambassador Rosemary Thomas added:

“I would like to support the Spanish Ambassador, that it is not a meeting on obstacles, but about possibilities. Not only tempo is important, but real steps by the both sides. In this respect now it’s for Belarus to act. Belarus can dictate the pace of this dialogue, and we have made rather clear statements what we would like to expect. The meeting with Martynau would give a possibility to consider the steps done… We hope to bring up the issue of Tatsyana Shaputska who had been expelled from the university after participation in the Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership. It is known from the press that she has been denied reinstating in the university, and we regret that greatly. We have brought up this issue and plan to return to it in the nearest future,” the British Ambassador said.

As for the Decree adopted by Lukashenka on regulating the Internet, the Hungarian Ambassador said that it is yet to see what effect and aftermaths this decree would have.