Belarus: the presidents of Lithuania, Poland and Romania proposing “a positive agenda”, a democratic process for the country

“We say to the Belarus people that we want to be together in the building of a democratic process, through a democratically-elected state leadership, a free civil society, a market economy and a constitutional state”. It is the presidents of Lithuania, Poland and Romania who today speak in one voice as “members of the European Union” about Belarus’s crisis. They provide their “expertise and experience in the process of political and economic reforms, in building independent institutions, while protecting the environment, in which respect for human rights and freedom of speech are a firm fundamental rule of society”. In addition, the leaders propose that the EU should provide “a package to support the economic transition of a democratic Belarus”. Such package should include “easier trade relations with the EU and assistance in the negotiations for accession to WTO; exemption of visas when the key requirements are met; assistance in diversifying Belarus’s energy industry and energy security; access to financial resources to reorganise and start Belarus’s free trade economy; more weight and efforts by the international financial institutions in reforming the economy and supporting investments”. In this effort, they ask the International Community to take part in outlining “a positive agenda for Belarus” and a “package to support the political, economic and social transition of the country”.
Valentina Bombelli