The exact date when Justas Paleckis` report on Belarus will be discussed is announced

The document submitted by EP rapporteur on Belarus was assigned for the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the European External Action Service.

A report on the situation in Belarus containing recommendations on the EU`s policy toward Minsk will be discussed by the European Parliament in Strasbourg on September 11, says BelaPAN.

Let us recall that on July 9, 2013 the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee approved a report on the situation in Belarus. Fifty-five members of the Committee voted for this report, one voted against and five abstained.

In the initial version of his report Justas Paleckis, Vice-chair for the EP Delegation for relations with Belarus, said that an improvement of the situation of human rights was discernible in 2012 and the European Dialogue on Modernisation with Belarusian society launched in 2012 has had a positive impact on the development of civil society in Belarus, and offered a number of recommendations. Later Mr Paleckis insisted that his report was based on information published on the human rights website www.spring96.org, which allegedly reported a threefold decrease in the number of arrests, searches and other repressive instances in Belarus in 2012.

The report drew indignation among Belarusian opposition activists and human rights defenders. According to Mr Paleckis, more than 300 amendments and suggestions have been submitted with regard to the report. In one of the interviews Justas Paleckis said he regretted having said that the human rights situation in Belarus had improved.

Let us recall that Justas Paleckis visited Minsk on March 18-21 to collect data for his report that will be submitted for the vote at the European Parliament later.