Ashton thinks EU can stabilize Belarus

Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, presented the EU’s foreign policy plan in Strasbourg on March 10.

She outlined the EU’s policy for the nearest five years, Radio Svaboda reports.

Addressing the European Parliament, Catherine Ashton emphasized: “Our wider international credibility depends on getting our neighbourhood right,” DPA news agency reports.

“The European Union will have to prove it can stabilize and help reform the countries in its neighbourhood, from Belarus to Morocco, if it wants to be taken seriously on the world stage,” Catherine Ashton said.

According to the EU foreign policy chief, the stabilization can be achieved by promoting pro-democracy and free-market reforms in the states across the EU’s border. Ashton thinks Brussels should make its policy more coherent and assertive.

“If we pull together we can safeguard our interests. If not, others will make the decisions for us,” she stressed.

Catherine Ashton focused on Ukraine, Balkans, Iran and Near East in her report and proposed to form a new European diplomatic service.