European Parliament to vote on Belarus resolution on January 20

The European Parliament is scheduled to hold a debate on the post-election situation in Belarus on January 19 and vote on its resolution the following day, the EP’s press office said on Monday.

The EP will hold the debate and the vote within the framework of its session that opened in Strasburg on January 17.

The MEPs will discuss “December's rigged elections in Belarus, following which opposition leaders were jailed and demonstrators attacked by police,” the press office said. “They will then vote on what sanctions the EU should impose on Belarus President Lukashenko and other government figures. Visa bans and a freeze on assets are high on the list of options.”

As a result of an extraordinary debate held by the EP’s Committee on Foreign Affairs in Brussels last week, MEPs called on the European Union to impose a travel ban and asset freeze on Belarusian officials responsible for the brutal dispersal of the December 19 post-election demonstration in Minsk and the jailing of hundreds of people over the peaceful protest. The lifting of these measures should be conditional on the release of those detained for political reasons, the MEPs said.

They called on the EU to amplify financial support for Belarus` civil society and independent media, increase financial aid and scholarships for students, lower visa fees for ordinary citizens and even abolish them for youths, scientists and artists.

The MEPs suggested reconsidering the position to be taken regarding the inter-parliamentary relations with Belarus, including in the context of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly.

The MEPs also deplored the Belarusian authorities’ decision to close the OSCE Office in Minsk.

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