EU could set up office in Minsk :: Charter'97 :: News

The European Commission could set up a mission in Belarus capital Minsk, EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said on April 15. Speaking at an informal Council of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, she said the move would signal the European Union`s commitment to supporting openness and democracy in Belarus. The mission would operate under the authority of the Commission`s Ukraine office, in Kiev.

Belarus, bordering EU members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, is run by dictatorial president Alexander Lukashenko. At the Luxembourg meeting, the foreign ministers were set to discuss how to boost their standing in Belarus as well, and Ferrero-Waldner said she favoured dialogue with Minsk even though EU leaders have adopted a position of minimal contact. "There should be contacts with some officials...to get the message across what we want to do, because isolating Lukashenko only serves his interests and we don`t think a complete suspension of dialogue is the right thing to do," she said. She said the EU would work closely with non-governmental organisations and civil society in Belarus.

Luxembourg foreign minister Jean Asselborn, who chaired the Council, said the ministers has discussed the deteriorating situation in Belarus. "The regime has silenced the last critical voices and tighten its grip on all political and social aspects of life in the country," he said, calling for action. "We cannot accept that a country on the borders of Europe falls under a dictatorship."