European Union to discuss sanctions against Belarusian regime

• 22.02.2010, 8:29

Sejm of Poland has called upon the Council of Ministers of the European Union to respond to arrests of activists of the Union of Poles in Belarus.

As informed by Radio Svaboda with a reference to European mass media, during the EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels today, beside the discussion on issues of creation of European foreign policy agency and relations with Russia, consultations on relations with Belarusian authorities are to be held.

In this way the Polish parliament has called upon Brussels to respond to arrests of representatives of the Union of Poles in Belarus. Mass arrests and persecution of members of this NGO took place in Ivyanets last week.

The party of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, Law and Justice, also demands Brussels to impose trade embargo against Belarus. Deputy for the Prime Minister of Poland Jan Barkowski, stated the day before: “Belarusian authorities face a choice: to follow democratic standards existing in the Council of Europe and the EU, or reject them, and then we would have to make more resolute steps including economic sanctions”.

It was informed earlier that the session the Council of Ministers of the European Union on Monday would be also attended by the chairperson of the Union of Poles in Belarus Andzelika Borys and the leader of “For Freedom” movement Alyaksandr Milinkevich.

We remind that on February 17 Sejm of Poland adopted a resolution condemnding actions of the Belarusian authorities. “Taking into account the new wave of repressions against the Union of Poles in Belarus and Union’s activists, the parliament finds it necessary to return to sanctions in relation to Belarus,” says the resolution proposed by Marshal of the Sejm Bronislaw Komorowski.