Strasbourg, 11/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday in Strasbourg, the European Parliament adopted the own-initiative report by Pedro Marset Campos (GUE, Spain) on relations between the EU and Belarus. It states its concern about the growing and involuntary isolation of this country and again calls for political and economic reforms to be adopted. It restates that no bilateral agreement must be concluded unless the Belarus authorities clearly show their will to comply with human rights. The Parliament criticises the authoritarian aberrations of President Lukashenko and denounces the repressive policy of the regime. It above all calls for abolition of the death penalty and the granting of real powers to the parliament. The Parliament invites the Commission to open an official inquiry on freedom of association in Belarus and, on the basis of the findings of this inquiry and where necessary, to apply temporary withdrawal of the trade preferences under the GSP regulation.
The Parliament also calls upon the Commission and the Council, as soon as the basic conditions are met, to begin structured dialogue between Belarus and the European Union to strengthen cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs, mainly to fight against cross-border organised crime, especially concerning the trade in human beings and illegal immigration.