According to a draft joint resolution that will be put to a vote on Wednesday, 22 January, MEPs are expected to call on the EU, its Member States, and the international community to categorically reject the forthcoming elections in Belarus and to continue to not recognise the legitimacy of Aleksandr Lukashenko as president after 26 January.
Deploring the intensification of grave violations of democratic principles and human rights in the run-up to the so-called presidential elections, the European Parliament is expected to reiterate its call for the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained for their political views and to ask the EU to continue to support Belarusian democratic forces.
MEPs are also expected to urge the EU and its international partners to broaden and strengthen sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for repression in Belarus and for the country’s participation in Russia’s war against Ukraine in addition to closing loopholes in the sanctions. In an amendment, the ECR Group has also proposed attacking the main sources of income that finance the regime, such as exports of potash and other fertilisers.
According to MEPs, the EU should also sanction the Belarusian entities and individuals responsible for the forced labour of political prisoners as well as the goods produced as a result of this forced labour. They also urge [the EU and its international partners] to immediately identify, freeze, and find legal ways to seize the assets of the individuals and entities running Mr Lukashenko’s so-called election campaign.
In addition, the European Parliament is expected to strongly condemn the Lukashenko regime’s use of migration to destabilise neighbouring EU Member States via orchestrated irregular flows and is expected to call on the EU and its Member States to work on a coordinated response. In an amendment, the EPP has proposed going even further—not speaking of the use of migration but of its instrumentalisation and weaponisation.
During the debate on Belarus on Tuesday, 21 January, Polish minister Adam Szłapka, speaking on behalf of the EU Council, explained that the EU was prepared to take further targeted and restrictive measures as long as the Belarusian authorities continued their actions. He promised that beyond sanctions, the EU continues to support civil society, independent media, and human rights defenders.
He also announced that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of the Belarusian democratic forces, would be meeting EU foreign ministers for dinner on Sunday—the day of the so-called elections. “This meeting will provide an opportunity to send a clear message of solidarity to Belarusian people who strive for a free, democratic, sovereign, and independent Belarus as a part of the European family,” explained the minister.
See the European Parliament’s draft resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/f4u (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)