European parliament expects "significant progress" from Belarus

The European Parliament today approved a resolution on Belarus, expressing concerns over the human rights situation in Belarus and hoping for a significant progress during the next 9 month of EU's moratorium on visa sanctions against Belarus' high-ranking officials. The European Parliament expects from official Minsk a number of steps: the reform of the electoral laws, media freedom, the freedom of assemblies and associations, no repressions against the opposition, the abolition of "political" articles in the Penal Code; a moratorium on the death penalty and the recognition of the Union of Poles led by Anzhalika Borys.

If the Belarusian authorities implement these recommendations, the European Parliament will push for lifting the visa sanctions and "will expedite the process of re-integration of Belarus into the European family of democratic countries”.