EU Commissioner offended Belarus’ Foreign Ministry :: Charter'97 :: News

Certain statements made by EU Commissioner for External relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner “do not further a better environment of our cooperation and contradict the efforts taken to develop the dialogue between Belarus and the European Union,” Belarus’ MFA press-secretary Andrei Papou said September 18 in Brussels at a meeting with Belarusian journalists.

“Belarus has repeatedly showed and practiced its adherence to fruitful cooperation with the European Union in various spheres,” the MFA press secretary emphasized.

According to “Belorusskiye Novosti”, Benita Ferrero-Waldner remarked at a meeting with journalist that all the offers made by the EU are presented in the document “What the European Union could bring to Belarus.” However, as she put it, “we haven’t received any feedback from the Belarusian part since the document was edited.” “We feel sharp lack of the political will necessairy to establish cooperation,” the European authority said. She remarked that nowadays all the talks and contacts of Belarus and the EU are purely ”technical”.

“We are ready to start a full cooperation with Belarus,” the EU Commissioner for External relations and European Neighbourhood Policy said. According to Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the key conditions for the start of this cooperation are: exoneration of political prisoners, free mass media opportunities, free and transparent election.