Brussels, 15/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - Is Belarus starting to realise that it has a lot to lose if it the EU withdraws its trade preferences under the EU's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) for Belarus' failure to respect International Labour Organisation (ILO) obligations relating to freedom of association for workers? On 21 December 2006, the Council adopted a regulation whereby Belarus would be excluded from the GSP on 21 June 2007 (see EUROPE 9321). Belarus now wants to talk with the EU about its involvement in the GSP system, explained a Belarus diplomatic spokesperson, Andrei Popov, on Thursday. According to European media, Russian press agency Ria Novosti calculates that withdrawal from the GSP could lead to losses for Belarus of around €400 million a year. Popov said that Minsk was open to discuss the issues as long as its European partners were also open for dialogue. He said that if put into practice, the decision would be unfounded, counter-productive and work against the people.
Belarus seems to be reacting rather late in the day. On Friday, the ILO adopted an assessment that Belarus has not aced to ensure the protection of certain key labour rights related to freedom of association in Belarus. EU Regulation 1933/2006 of 21 December 2006 will therefore come into force on 21 June 2007 and lead to temporary suspension of Belarus' GSP trade preferences. 'The Commission regrets that despite repeated calls, Belarus has not taken any concrete measures to respect trade union rights. As soon as Belarus complies with its ILO obligations, the Commission will propose that its GSP preferences are reinstated,' explains the European Commission in a press release published on Friday. 'The situation is now in the hands of the Belarusian authorities. The Commission urges the Belarusian authorities to act now to ensure the full respect of Belarusian workers rights.' (eh)