The European Parliament deems it necessary to work out a cooperation strategy between Belarus and the European Union in connection with the forthcoming EU enlargement in 2004. This is mentioned in the report of an MEP Pedro Marset Campos “EU and Belarus: future partnership”. The report will be a matter of debates at the EP plenary, which opened on February 10 in Strasbourg.

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Minsk city hall forbade Young Front to hold on Saint Valentine’s February 14 their annual action “I love Belarus”. BelaPAN quotes YF leader Pavel Severinets as saying that on February 7 the Minsk city hall denied them the right to hold rally from the Yakub Kolas square to the Parizhskoi Kommuny square. However, the organization calls on its followers to celebrate the holiday altogether and show up at the Yakub Kolas square at 5p.m., from where they would march all along the planned route. According to Severinets, this will be “youths’ response to the threat of the loss of sovereignty”. “We want to make it clear to all that we will not give up Belarus neither to Lukashenko, nor to Russia,” – said Severinets.

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Grodno affiliate of the Belarusian Association of Journalists forwarded to the administration of the Zhodino penitentiary and the Committee for penalties’ execution of the Interior Ministry of Belarus a petition on the application of amnesty to the journalist Pavel Mozheiko.

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Justice Ministry cancelled reprimand, ruled against the Fellowship of the Belarusian language, reports Radio Svaboda. The warning was passed on November 26 last year for FBL’s installation of memorable cross in commemoration of the perished heroes of anti-Russian liberation upheavals. Now all of a sudden the Ministry officials changed their mind and lifted the original charges.

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The regime doesn’t give up, opposition doesn’t argue and people don’t care. Local elections haven’t yet passed but the upsetting future outcome can already be outlined. In 93% of voting constituencies they only have one candidate per seat. Nominees from democratic opposition – both parties and non-partisan – participate only in 3% of cases. There will be absolutely no competition in the overwhelming majority of regional committees. The society takes lack of alternative for a norm. Opposition even failed to nominate candidates in half of the municipal ballot districts. The authorities, in their turn, consider elections to be mere formality and deny any access to opposition. One third of runners were stripped of registration for unclear reasons.

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Dmitry Ivanovsky, who’s holding a hunger-strike of protest in Grodno incarceration for twelve days now, cannot be visited by his lawyer. Artist Dmitry Ivanovsky was sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest for alleged organization of an unsanctioned entrepreneurs’ picket opposite the regional hall’s building in late January. Following the verdict’s announcement he declared a hunger-strike right in the courtroom.

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In the TV schedule of the “Russia” channel next Sunday one can see the new weekly analytical political program “Morning chat with Dmitry Kiselev”. In it they will discuss the most poignant events of the week in Russia’s political life. In an interview to the ITAR-TASS correspondent Kiselev said that his future guests in the studio will be politicians, who directly relate to the events in question. The first invited person will be Alexander Lukashenko.

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On February 11-13 Belarus will be visited by the Iranian FM delegation, headed by deputy Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mahsen Aminzade. According to the Foreign Ministry, although the delegation formally comes for diplomatic consultations, the meeting will usher in a preparatory stage before president Khattami’s personal visit to Minsk. In the Belarusian capital the guests will rendezvous with the Belarusian Foreign Minister Mikhail Khvostov, Administration leadership and the Ministry of industry representatives. The sides will consider intensification of bilateral cooperation in many spheres, in particular in a trade-economic one.

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Belarus’ stance concerning the principles of the union state’s construction and the emission center remains pretty much the same, “Rosbalt” correspondent was told on Monday by the head of the Department of information of the Belarusian National Bank Anatoly Drozdov. Commenting on the February 7 media statement of the Russian Vice-Premier Aleksei Kudrin, who said that “the Belarusian colleagues already yield to the formation of a common emission center on the basis of Russian central Bank”, Anatoly Drozdov referred to it as “Mr.Kudrin’s personal viewpoint”.

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New Russia’s Customs Code may enter into effect on January 1, 2004, said deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma’s budget committee Valery Draganov. According to his forecasts, somewhere in March-April the draft Code will pass second and third reading in the Parliament. Meantime, added Draganov, approval of the union’s Customs Code in its present-day form would be a serious blunder on their part.

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Despite the significant progress, achieved in a range of structural reforms’ directions in Belarus, the authorities still prefer to follow the “slow reforms’ route”, RIA “Novosti” quotes IMF mission’s experts as saying following a fortnight of the country’s economic progress’ evaluation in the year 2002. According to the head of mission Thomas Richardson, the progress attained is of a twofold nature. Indeed, there has been reached a permanent GDP growth and rise in the ready goods reserves. However, inflation, which fell as compared to last years’ rates, remains highest of all CIS member-states.

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