European Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner won’t come to Minsk

• 11.03.2009, 15:13

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, has postponed her visit to Belarus.

“The government of the Republic of Belarus and the EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy has agreed on rescheduling her planned visit to Minsk. The visit is to take place in the middle of April 2009,” the report of the Foreign Ministry of Belarus reads.

The representation of the European Commission in Minsk has confirmed this report to the Charter’97 press-centre. The official report from Brussels received by the mission also says that the visit has been rescheduled on agreement of the both sides. “Nothing is said so far about the reasons for rescheduling the visit,” the European Commission’s representation said.

However, told the press-secretary of the office Christine Hohmann to BelaPAN, the visit is postponed because of overbusy working schedule.

As we have informed, the European Commissioner planned to spend March 12-13 in Belarus. Over the last month that would be the second visit of a high-ranking Belarusian official to Belarus. In February Minsk was visited by the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union and the EU High Representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana.

On March 9, before her visit to Minsk, Benita Ferrero-Waldner addressed an audience in the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London. She stated that more political reforms are expected from the Belarusian regime.

Speaking about chances of Belarus’ participation in the Eastern Partnership program, Mrs Ferrero-Waldner stressed that for that to happen, the EU would like to see more political reforms. Now, she believes, this process in the country could be defined by the words "two steps forward, one step back".