EU institution ready to assist Belarus in conducting structural refiorms


Photo: eib.org

The European Investment Bank, which is the EU’s nonprofit long-term lending institution, will definitely provide support to Belarus if the country brings itself to structural reforms, EIB Vice President Vazil Hudak said at Wednesday’s press conference in Minsk.

“If Belarus plans to grow faster than 2.5-3% of GDP, it needs to undertake structural reforms. Of course, it is not easy to do. Such reforms in many European countries were painful. Structural reforms is the sovereign decision of a country, in this case, of Belarus,” state-run news agency BelTA quotes Hudak.

The EIB will back such reforms, provide the EU expertise and tell how these reforms can enhance productivity and to share our technology know-how, the top financial official, who once was Slovakia’s Economy Minister, stressed.

Although no one likes when energy prices, heating and transportation costs rise, but carrying out structural reforms is crucial, he added.

In October 2017, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn met with Belarusian Prime Minister Andrey Kabyakou in Luxembourg and confirmed the EU’s willingness to help Belarus in putting economic reforms in place and creating new jobs.

In return of loans and investments, Belarus’ European partners and international organisations demand our country carry out thorough reforms, but president Alyaksandr Lukashenka keeps rejecting their proposals saying that the reforms may ‘choke the Belarusian nation off‘.

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