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EU puts forward proposals in dialogue with Minsk, says representative of European Commission

The European Union puts forward proposals rather than presses demands in its dialogue with Minsk, John Kjaer, an official of the External Relations Directorate General in the European Commission, said in Minsk on February 9.

It is the Belarusian authorities that decide whether they should reject the EU`s proposals or discuss them, Mr. Kjaer said at the opening of the third conference of the Vilnius-based Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies in Minsk.

He stressed that there is a need for economic reform in the country that will "unleash the potential of all Belarus and make it resilient to external shocks."

"We put the offer on the table to continue to work more closely to support political and economic development," he said. "We look for steps that will take us forward."

The direction and pace of Belarus` reform is something what is important to Brussels, he said, noting that Belarus neighbors three EU member states, plays a significant role as a transit route for energy resources and goods and accounts for the "second most important country" in the Eastern Partnership program.

Mr. Kjaer stressed that Belarus is the only country with which the EU has no legal basis for relationship, noting that the level of cooperation depends on "common values that are shared."

Brussels calls for active engagement and plans to increase its financial support for the country in 2010 through 2013, he said.

The European Commission`s representative added that felt in Belarus as if he were in Hollywood where everybody is talking about "fights of monsters and battles of titans." //BelaPAN