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EU ready to provide "telling" support to Belarus, commissioner says

The European Union is ready to provide "telling and practical support" to Belarus, Stefan Fule, the European Union`s commissioner for enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy, told reporters in Minsk on Friday, as quoted by BelaPAN.

Work on a joint interim plan for bilateral relations is nearing completion in Brussels, he said. "It is our attempt to create a framework for the liberalization of relations between Belarus and the European Union," he said.

Describing the document as a "so-called roadmap," Mr. Fule said that it would set out commitments for both Minsk and Brussels. He stressed that the plan was not meant to replace cooperation agreements that Belarus and the EU could sign in the future.

"The plan focuses on areas mentioned in the partnership agreement that was signed several years ago but never ratified because of the human rights situation in Belarus," he said. "For us, it is an attempt to establish a structured dialogue between the European Union and Belarus."

The plan is not designed as a road to bypass the absence of the legal framework for bilateral cooperation, he said. "This plan will help us to embark on the path of its development," Mr. Fule said.

As for the European Commission`s work on a negotiating mandate for a visa facilitation agreement with Belarus, the commissioner said that the EU member states would discuss it in September or October. "I hope very much that we will be able this year to start a process that could bring us to the facilitation of the visa regime for Belarusian citizens," he said.