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European Parliament's rapporteur on Belarus discusses changes to his report with "shadow rapporteurs"

 

Justas Paleckis, the European Parliament's rapporteur on Belarus, on June 5 discussed changes to his report with EP "shadow rapporteurs."

As Mr. Paleckis told BelaPAN, each EP political group may appoint a shadow rapporteur who coordinates the group's position on the rapporteur’s report and changes to it.

According to Mr. Paleckis, he and the shadow rapporteurs had a good discussion on Wednesday and seemingly managed to come to common ground.

Mr. Paleckis also said that the EP’s Foreign Affairs Committee would have a second discussion of his report and changes to it on July 8. The report will then be debated at an EP plenary session in September.

According to Mr. Paleckis, suggestions regarding the report can be submitted until June 12. "We have already received some suggestions," he said. "But I think we will receive the largest number of suggestions in the last days before the deadline."

Mr. Paleckis also noted that he had already prepared several dozens of amendments to his report, and that they mostly concerned the human rights situation, the economic and social situation, statistical data from international organizations and Belarus' comparison with other Eastern Partnership countries and EU member countries.

The controversial report was written by Mr. Paleckis following his May 18-21 visit to Minsk.

Mr. Paleckis` report, in which he noted improvements in the human rights situation in Belarus in 2012 and recommended suspending entry bans against Belarusian officials, was met with indignation from Belarusian opposition activists and human rights defenders, while the Belarusian foreign ministry expressed hope that the report would help Belarus and the European Union step up their dialogue.

Mr. Paleckis insisted that his report was based on information published on the human rights website www.spring96.org, which he said reported a threefold decrease in the number of arrests, searches and other repressive instances in Belarus in 2012. He explained that he had not included the Belarusian rights defenders’ phrase that “the reigning atmosphere of intimidation and fear decreased the activism of people” because of the need to cut the text of the report.

While the EP’s Foreign Affairs Committee discussed the report on May 30, Mr. Paleckis argued that he did not suggest lifting the European Union’s sanctions on Belarusian officials involved in the government’s crackdown on political opponents, and that he only proposed lifting entry bans on one or two officials who could contribute to the establishment of a dialogue. // BelaPAN