At a meeting of the EU-Belarus Coordination Group in Brussels on 19-20 December, the EU raised “the need to re-launch the work on comprehensive improvements in the electoral legislation in line with the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and Venice Commission recommendations” in the country.
A European External Action Service (EEAS) press release says that the EU also raised concerns with regard to the arrests of journalists and the imposition of fines on participants at public events and demonstrations. It stated, too, its opposition to the continued use of the death penalty.
In discussions on sectoral cooperation, the EU “stressed the need for full transparency and cooperation on nuclear safety issues, in particular on the new Nuclear Power Plant in Ostrovets”, the EEAS says.
According to the EEAS, the Coordination Group meeting provided an opportunity to discuss areas of particular importance for Belarus: facilitation of trade with non-Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) partners; communication and visibility not only of the EU in partner countries, but also of the partner countries in the EU; and cooperation with third countries, such as China or India.
The EU and Belarus are currently in advanced negotiations on new, tailor-made EU-Belarus partnership priorities. The main areas of interest in the partnership priorities are economic development and modernisation, strengthening institutions and good governance, connectivity and people-to-people contacts. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)