Poland and
Sweden have proposed a
Plan of cooperation with Post-Soviet countries to the Ministers of Foreign
Affairs of the EU Member-States.
The Plan
envisages ‘deeper integration’ of the European Union with
Belarus,
Ukraine,
Moldova,
Georgia,
Armenia and Azerbadjian.
The main purpose of more intensive cooperation would be to prepare these
countries for the EU accession, though the plan itself does not mention
membership opportunities at all.
After
the EU enlargement to 25 countries in 2004
Brussels implemented a
plan of closer cooperation with EU neighbours, known as European Neighbourhood
Policy (ENP). In addition to the countries already mentioned, the ENP includes
Mediterranean neighbours of the European Union, including countries that do not
have direct borders with the European Union:
Algeria,
Egypt,
Israel,
Jordan,
Lebanon,
Libya,
Morocco,
Occupied
Palestine Territories,
Syria and
Tunisia.
Today in
Brussels, the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Poland, Radosław Sikorski, explained to
journalists the difference between the previous and the latest plans for
neighbourhood cooperation:
“In
Poland we see the
difference between the Southern and Eastern dimensions of the European
Neighbourhood Policy. That is, in the South we have neighbours of
Europe and in the East
we have European neighbours. There is a big difference. In the East we have
countries like
Belarus,
Ukraine,
Moldova – their
territories are located in
Europe. In accordance
with Treaty of Rome, they all have a right to apply for membership and one day,
if they fulfill the criteria, possibly become EU-members”.
It seems that the “Eastern
Partnership” proposal of
Poland and
Sweden is part of a larger compromise,
where the EU members agreed to un-block negotiations regarding partnership
relations with
Russia. A proposal to initiate discussion
on the issues raised by the neighbourhood plan was also made to
Moscow today.
Would
Belarus manage to benefit from this new
proposal of the European Union? It is not out of the question that the proposal
could be followed by a substantial financial inflow from
Brussels to prepare the possible new members
of the European Family.
For reference, de jure
Belarus is a partner in the European
Neighbourhood Policy, however de facto
cooperation in the framework of this plan is ‘frozen’. In November 2004
Brussels made 12 proposals to Belarusian
officials, the fulfillment of which would influence further development of
political and economic relations. In particular, in order to be able to benefit
from the European Nieghbourhood Policy,
Belarus has to hold democratic elections,
provide all political forces with an opportunity to have equal access to the
Media and release all political prisoners.
Will the new EU proposal,
initiated by
Poland and
Sweden today remain ‘empty’ for
Belarus? It is hard to say in advance. One
issue is clear though, it will be harder for the Administration to persuade
Belarusians that no one waits for them in
Europe.
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