European Commission proposes partial suspension of EU–Belarus visa agreement for pro-Lukashenka officials
On September 29, the European Commission proposed to suspend certain articles of the EU’s visa facilitation agreement with the Republic of Belarus.
Such decision follows the Belarusian regime’s attempts to destabilise the EU and its member states by facilitating irregular migration for political purposes, as well as its decision on 28 June 2021 to suspend the EU–Belarus readmission agreement, the EC press service reports.
The proposal is targeted to specific categories of officials linked to the regime and will not affect ordinary citizens of Belarus, who will continue enjoying the same benefits under the visa facilitation agreement as they do currently.
“Once adopted by the Council, the partial suspension of the visa facilitation agreement will apply to specific provisions of the agreement. As a consequence, requirements for further documentary evidence regarding the purpose of the journey would not be waived and the fees for processing visa applications would not be decreased. The measures will only affect members of Belarusian official delegations and members of Belarusian national and regional governments and parliaments, Belarus Constitutional Court and Belarus Supreme Court, in the exercise of their duties,” the statement reads.
At the same time, the EU vows to continue supporting the people of Belarus and standing ‘with all human rights defenders and independent voices and all the people oppressed by the regime’.
The EU–Belarus visa facilitation and readmission agreements entered into force in July 2020. The visa facilitation agreement concerns the reciprocal issuance of visas to citizens of the Union and Belarus for an intended stay of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period. The readmission Agreement establishes procedures for the safe and orderly return of persons who are irregularly present in the EU or Belarus.
“The ongoing repression against the Belarusian people, the regime’s unilateral decision to suspend readmission of people with no right to stay in the EU to Belarus, as well as the orchestration of irregular migration to the EU seriously undermine these agreements,” the EC officials stressed.
At the end of June, Minsk announced the suspension of the agreement on the readmission of people illegally crossing the Belarus-EU border. Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makey explained that the authorities did not intend to ‘stop some of the migrants who want to get to the West’.
“We will never stop anyone, they are not coming to us,” Alyaksandr Lukashenka commented on the decision during the conference on July, 6.
In pursuit of his political and economic interests, Lukashenka has repeatedly played the border card. He keeps resorting to a number of tools that are inconsistent with international law and bilateral treaties. The current migration crisis on the borders of Poland and the Baltic States is an example of such actions.
belsat.eu, via ec.europa.eu
