The General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels chaired by Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik focused on the elections in Belarus, the situation in the Middle East and the Western Balkans.
With regard to Sunday’s presidential elections in Belarus, Plassnik referred to the preliminary findings of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Election Observation Mission (ODIHR): "The report finds that the elections in Belarus did not come up to the international standards and the OSCE obligations. The EU shares this assessment. The elections are therefore basically flawed.”
Foreign Minister Plassnik recalled that, on several occasions during the last few months, the EU had strongly condemned the infringement of candidates’ rights during the election campaign, including threats, arrests and violence against candidates and election workers. “We regret the Belarusian authorities’ policy of self-isolation. We have begun a discussion today which we will continue and which also comprises the option of restrictive measures. At the same time we stress our desire to continue to foster contact with the people of Belarus”, Plassnik said. “In the course of the election campaign, we saw the emergence of pluralist forces, a genuine Belarusian opposition and a politically active civil society. We are convinced that the bleak winter for democracy and democrats in Belarus will not endure.”
Foreign Minister Plassnik called on the Belarusian authorities to guarantee the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression in accordance with their OSCE obligations and warned the government against threatening or arresting individuals exercising their political rights in the coming days.
Commenting on the situation in the Middle East and in light of the cabinet list Hamas presented to President Mahmoud Abbas on 19 March, Plassnik reiterated the EU’s clear and consistent stance, saying it had not changed. She again called on Hamas to renounce violence, recognise Israel’s right to exist and honour existing agreements. “Hamas has reached a very important crossroads. It must decide where it wants to go and how it intends to assume its future responsibilities”, the Foreign Minister declared.
On the subject of the Western Balkans, Plassnik pointed to the “Salzburg Declaration” adopted by the Foreign Ministers at their informal meeting in Salzburg, which confirmed the EU perspective of the countries in the region. “Their progress towards the EU will take place step by step on each issue. It will also become increasingly important for the countries concerned to assume responsibility for their own affairs.” Foreign Minister Plassnik welcomed the Commission’s announcement of specific measures to make the EU perspective more tangible, and in particular its intention to submit a mandate for negotiations on visa facilitation with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
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