On Monday 8 December, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos announced additional support of €30 million for Belarus.
“The EU will provide an additional €30 million in assistance to the people of Belarus in the coming year. This will take our total support since the stolen election [in 2020] to over €200 million”, announced Marta Kos at a high-level European Parliament conference entitled ‘Belarus: Building Foundations for Democratic Change’.
She added that the aid would enable Belarusian human rights defenders to assist victims of repression, and journalists and civil society to continue working for democratic change.
“With the European Union’s help, we continue building strong democratic institutions trusted and supported by [the] people that represent alternatives to [the] Lukashenko regime”, emphasised Belarusian democratic opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. In her view, “the stronger Belarusian society, the weaker is Lukashenko and Putin’s presence in Belarus”.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya felt that the EU “must be a player” in defending its own interests. “Leaving Belarus one to one with Russia means giving space for Russia’s aggression, provocations and hostility. And vice versa, a democratic independent European Belarus means stability and [a] safer eastern flank”, she insisted.
As well as supporting a democratic Belarus, High Representative Kaja Kallas called for adopting additional sanctions against the regime. “Notably, [there is] a need to isolate, including through additional sanctions, a regime that for four years already has helped Russia [wage] its war of aggression against Ukraine”, she explained, adding that the country was engaging in a series of hybrid incidents and provocations that threatened the security of EU Member States. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)