Monday

4th Dec 2023

EU leaders reject Belarus election result, urge dialogue

EU leaders rejected Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko's re-election and announced more sanctions against those involved in the violent crackdown of peaceful protests.

At an emergency summit on Wednesday (19 August), EU leaders called for dialogue and for a peaceful transition of power, pledged money to Belarus civil society and independent media, and warned of Russian meddling in the country's affairs.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

However, leaders did not call for fresh elections, after Lukashenko claimed he had won 80 percent of the votes in the 9 August poll, which the opposition says was rigged.

"Belarus must find its own path, that must happen via dialogue in the country and there must be no intervention from outside," German chancellor Angela Merkel said after the videoconference of leaders.

She added that the dialogue should include Lukashenko.

Merkel ruled herself out as a mediator, after revealing that she had tried to phone Lukashenko, but "he refused to talk to me, which I regret".

The EU also did not offer to mediate itself, but supported the idea of dialogue proposed by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), of which both Belarus and Russia are members.

The EU wants to avoid a repeat of violence in neighbouring Ukraine, where six years ago a popular uprising ousted the pro-Kremlin leader, triggering a Russian military intervention.

Instead, it is trying to walk a fine line between ensuring stability in the region, supporting peaceful protests, and avoiding a strong reaction from Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Contrary to Ukraine, in Belarus, protesters do not want to loosen ties with Russia.

Russia has also warned the EU against meddling in Belarus, while pointing at what happened in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, top EU officials insisted that the people of Belarus must chose the direction of their country.

European Council president Charles Michel said any resolution of the crisis "must be found in Belarus, not in Brussels or in Moscow."

But some leaders called for a rerun of the elections, even if leaders did not want to call for it as a bloc, to avoid being perceived as provocative.

"The entire European Council condemned the situation in Belarus and we all believe that the elections in Belarus should be held again," Poland's prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said after the meeting.

The other countries in the Visegrad group - the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia - supported free and fair elections, with Austria and the Baltic states joining them.

The EU will also channel €53m to the Belarus health system to fight Covid-19, help civil society, and victims of the crackdown.

Leaders pledged to sanction those responsible for the violence against protestors and the election fraud.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday also had a phone call with Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who had earlier fled to Lithuania, an EU member state.

Tikhanovskaya has called for a second vote.

"It is the Belarusian people who are demanding a rerun of truly free and fair elections ... We support the Belarusian people in them choosing the path they want to have, it's their decision where they want to lead their country," von der Leyen said after the video call with leaders.

More protests, more crackdown

Despite the EU's message to Lukashenko about dialogue and avoiding escalation, the Belarus strong man is doubling down on his position.

Later on Wednesday, hundreds of Belarusian protesters gathered in Minsk to defy a new order from Lukashenko to his police to clear the streets of the capital.

"There should no longer be any disorder in Minsk of any kind," he said, according to local news agencies.

Police dispersed a demonstration and detained two people at the Minsk Tractor Works (MTZ) plant.

Earlier, police also took control of the main state theatre in Minsk, a gathering place for protestors after its director was fired for speaking out against the mistreatment of demonstrators.

EU leaders urge Putin to push for Belarus dialogue

European Council president Charles Michel, French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel had each one of them a call with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Tuesday (18 August) on the situation in Belarus, calling for dialogue.

Merkel and Macron offer Belarus mediation, help for Navalny

French president Emmanuel Macron and Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel offered EU mediation to Belarus, while also offered health care and asylum to Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny who is suspected of being poisioned.

Opinion

Holding safe elections under Coronavirus

Implementing new voting technologies and procedures for processing ballots, especially right before an election, can introduce new security risks.

Russia loses seat on board of chemical weapons watchdog

Russia lost its seat on the board of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for the first time in the organisation's history — while Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania were elected to the executive council.

Opinion

'Loss and Damage' reparations still hang in balance at COP28

There is still work to be done — especially when it comes to guaranteeing the Global North's participation in financing Loss and Damage, and ensuring the Global South has representation and oversight on the World Bank's board.

Latest News

  1. EU public procurement reform 'ineffective', find auditors
  2. COP28 warned over-relying on carbon capture costs €27 trillion
  3. Optimising Alzheimer's disease health care pathways across Europe
  4. Georgian far-right leader laughs off potential EU sanctions
  5. The EU's U-turn on caged farm animals — explained
  6. EU-China summit and migration files in focus This WEEK
  7. COP28 debates climate finance amid inflated accounting 'mess'
  8. Why EU's €18m for Israel undermines peace

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us