Activities of Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS related to 2023/2041(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
Relations with Belarus (debate)
Relations with Belarus (debate)
Reports (1)
REPORT on relations with Belarus
Amendments (57)
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
– having regard to the OSCE Moscow Mechanism report of 11 May 2023 on the serious threat to the OSCE human dimension in Belarus since 5 November 2020,
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas almost three years after the so-called elections on 9 August 2020, the Belarusian authorities are continuing their repression against the Belarusian people; whereas more than 50 000 Belarusians have been illegally arrested and tortured, more than 1 500 persons remain imprisoned on political grounds and are daily exposed to isolation, torture, inhumane and degrading treatment, and around 300 000 have left the country for fear of a similar fate;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas repression expanded to all segments of society - civil society organizations, human rights defenders, charitable organisations, environmental associations, independent trade unions, lawyers of political prisoners, private businesses and independent media - making any form of public dissent liable;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas around 1 000 civil organisations were deregistered and closed and over 300 media organisations labelled as extremists; whereas most of civil society organisations and independent media, especially their leaders, were forced to flee Belarus and to relaunch their activities in exile, primarily in Lithuania and Poland; whereas over 30 journalists and media workers remain imprisoned on bogus criminal charges;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas four major independent trade unions and the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions were shut down and at least 14 of their leaders and members were imprisoned;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. whereas almost 100 Belarusian attorneys were stripped of their licenses;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the Lukashenka regime is dangerously undermining the sovereignty of Belarus by deepening Belarus’ integration into the Uturning it into a satellite state of Russia and allowing Belarus to be absorbed by Russia into a so-called union Sstate with Russia;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the Lukashenka regime is further destructing manifestation of national identity of Belarusians and is pursuing the aggressive policy of russification and destruction of Belarusian culture;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas religious and ethnic minorities in Belarus, in particular the Lithuanian and Polish minorities, face harassment and restrictions on their rights, such as the right to learn in their own language;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the Belarusian authorities actively support and have become accomplices in Russia’s unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine; whereas majority of Belarusians are against their country’s participation in this war and demonstrate it by organizing peaceful protests that result in arrests and police misconduct, sabotaging transportation of Russian military equipment and joining or supporting Belarusian regiments fighting alongside Ukrainian armed forces;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas Belarus is the only country in Europe to use capital punishment; whereas recent amendments to the Criminal Code introduced the death penalty for terrorist attacks not resulting in death, attempting terrorist attack or an assassination of a foreign official and treason committed by a state official or a serviceman, with the aim to deter any resistance to the involvement of Belarus into Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas the Lukashenka regime is actively engaged in Russian efforts to illegally transfer and re-educate Ukrainian children; whereas around 2 000 Ukrainian children, mainly from the territories temporarily occupied by Russia, have been sent to camps and sanatoriums in Belarus, including the Dubrava camp owned by Belarus’s main potash producer Belaruskali;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the leaders of democratic political parties have publicly declared the European aspirations of Belarusians;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas in response to the ongoing repression, the EU and its Member States have adopted a number of restrictive measures against the Lukashenka regime, including sanctions against 195 individuals and 34 entities directly involved into human rights violations and providing support to the regime, and allocated over EUR 100 million to support the people of Belarus and their democratic aspirations;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas as a result of the Western sanctions Belarus’ GDP shrank by 4,7 percent in 2022 or twice less than expected;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
Gb. whereas the Lukashenka regime is curbing the effect of Western sanctions by using Russia provided assistance, which includes transiting Belarusian goods via Russian transport and port infrastructure, preferential access to Russian market and postponement of debt payments to Russia, as well as by circumventing the sanctions;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G c (new)
Recital G c (new)
Gc. whereas the Lukashenka regime is restoring the Soviet-era centrally planned economic model, particularly regulation of retail prices, maintaining industrial production of state owned companies at the high level even if there is no demand and repressions against private businesses, including banning foreign investors from selling their stakes in companies in Belarus and imposing regulations allowing confiscation of private property;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G d (new)
Recital G d (new)
Gd. whereas EU imports from Belarus in 2022 reduced twice if compared to previous years, from EUR 6,54 billion in 2021 to EUR 3,19 billion; whereas Belarus’ exports to Russia increased by 40 percent from USD 16,3 billion in 2021 to USD 23 billion in 2022; whereas Belarus’ exports to China have almost doubled in 2022;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G e (new)
Recital G e (new)
Ge. whereas as a result of EU support hundreds of Belarusians are currently receiving scholarships, many more are taking part in online trainings to strengthen their professional skills and will be engaged in professional exchanges;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1 (new)
Subheading 1 (new)
Continuous repression by the Lukashenka regime and EU support for repressed
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the EU institutions and its Member States to explore the possibility of allowing representatives of the Belarusian democratic forces and civil society to take up the empty seats, in bilateral and multilateral formats, in particular within the framework of the Eastern Partnership policy, which were previously occupied by representatives of the Belarusian authorities; calls on the Commission to include independent, non regime- affiliated Belarusian experts as national representatives for Belarus in cooperation programmes such as EU4Climate, EU4Environment and other initiatives;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Denounces politically motivated ‘show trials’ aimed at instilling fear in representatives and supporters of the democratic forces, civil society, independent media, free trade unions and human rights defenders, and in particular the recent sentencing to long prison terms of Nobel Peace Prize and Sakharov Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, Valiantsin Stefanovich, Zmitser Salauyou, Uladzimir Labkovich, Raman Pratasevich, Henadz Fiadynich, Vasil Berasneu and Vatslau Areshka, as well as the sentencing in absentia of leading figures of the democratic forces such as Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Pavel Latushka, Maryia Maroz, Volha Kavalkova, Siarhei Dyleuski, Valery Tsapkala, Stsiapan Putsila and Yan Rudzik on spurious charges of ‘conspiracy to seize power’ or ‘forming extremist organisations’;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Reiterates its call on the Belarusian authorities to put an immediate end to the ill-treatment of political prisoners, who are being held in cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions, without adequate medical care and without access to lawyers and family members; is deeply concerned that imprisoned democratic opposition leaders Viktar Babaryka and Maria Kalesnikava have been secretly transferred to hospital without any information on their state of health, and that there is no information on the state of Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Mikalai Statkevich, Maksim Znak and Ihar Losik;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to enable human rights defenders, lawyers and civil society organisations to continue providing services, particularly social aid, healthcare and public defence, to political prisoners and their families;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Calls on the International Labour Organization to consider at its 111th Session, to be held in Geneva on 17 June 2023, to apply the restrictive measures listed under article 33 of the ILO Constitution to Belarus as a response to the continued persecution of independent trade union leaders and activists and of the systematic violations of workers’ rights by Lukashenka’s regime;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Calls on the Belarusian authorities to allow diplomats and international organisations, in particular the International Committee of the Red Cross, to visit political prisoners so that they can assess their condition and provide aid;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5d. Calls on the International Committee of the Red Cross to intensify its support for political prisoners and other oppressed persons in Belarus;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5e. Calls on the EU and Member States diplomats, despite existing difficulties, to engage and support the civil society, human rights defenders, independent media, pro-democratic groups and families of political prisoners in Belarus;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Encourages the Member States to further simplify the procedures and guaranteeing access in Belarus for obtaining visas and residence for those fleeing Belarus for political reasons or for those who require medical treatment as a result of violence perpetrated against them;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to prepare rules and procedures to deal with cases where human rights defenders and other civil society activists are stripped of their citizenship in Belarus, as well as to provide support to those Belarusians residing in the EU whose identity documents are about to expire and who have no means of renewing them, since they cannot return to Belarus;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1 a (new)
Subheading 1 a (new)
Involvement of the Belarusian regime in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Condemns in the strongest possible terms the Belarusian regime’s involvement in Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine, including promotion of hate speech, disinformation and propaganda echoing Moscow’s bellicose rhetoric, as well as the massive provision of ammunition and military hardware to the Russian aggressors and, including the manufacture of military components for the Russian military, the use of Belarusian territory as a staging ground to launch missile attacks on military and civilian targets in Ukraine and training Russian troops; notes that the vast majority of Belarusians disapprove of this multifaceted involvement in Russia’s war of aggression; expresses its support for the Belarusian volunteers, in particular the ‘Kastuś Kalinouŭski’ and ‘Pahonia’ regiments, who are bravely fighting alongside the Ukrainian army to repel the aggressors;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Considers that by enabling Russia’s unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine the Lukashenka regime has become an accomplice in committed crimes; Calls for the EU institutions and the Member States to take all the actions necessary to enable the criminal prosecution, including issuing an international arrest warrant, of Aliaksandr Lukashenka and other of Belarusian officials who are complicit in the war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of genocide and the crime of aggression committed in Ukraine;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Call for the EU and its Member States to broaden and strengthen the scope of sanctions (‘restrictive measures’) against individuals and legal entities responsible for or complicit in grave human rights violations in Belarus under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Mechanisms (EU Magnitsky Act), including judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, prison and penal colony officials, and agents of the infamous KGB and GUBOPiK; insists that Belarusian potash, which is the main source of the regime’s income, should remain on the list of sanctions, especially as the main potash producer Belaruskali is directly involved into illegal transfer and re-education of Ukrainian children; urges the EU and its Member States to increase their capacity to assess the real effect of sanctions in order to ensure their full implementation and to thwart any circumvention schemes; regrets that some Member States are lobbying for lifting sanctions for Belarusian potash producers, including Belaruskali;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1 b (new)
Subheading 1 b (new)
Sovereignty of Belarus and protection of its language and national culture
Amendment 202 #
10. Notes with great concern the rampant economic, political and military integraabsorption of Belarus into the Uso-called union Sstate with Russia; regrets that Belarus has become a satellite state of Russia; condemns the announced deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons under Russian command on Belarusian territory in blatant violation of Belarus’ nuclear-free status that was revoked following the fraudulent constitutional referendum of 27 February 2022; calls for the EU and the Member States to maintain unity in addressing the multifaceted threats posed by the Lukashenka regime to the EU, in particular the continued state-engineered illegal migration crisis at the borders of Belarus with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, and to work in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure nuclear safety at the Belarusian NPPand the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group to ensure nuclear safety at the Belarusian NPP; regrets that the second reactor of the Belarusian NPP in Astravyets was launched without nuclear safety concerns by the international community being properly addressed;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Notes Belarus's growing economic dependence on Russia and other non- democratic countries, including China; deplores the fact that Belarus is returning to the Soviet-era centrally planned economic model, which will further isolate Belarus from the world market, lead to a lag in innovation and modernisation, and lead to a continuous brain drain, which is contrary to the interests of the Belarusian people, who have shown increasing entrepreneurial skills in recent years;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10c. Considering that small and medium-sized enterprises played an important role in supporting the pro- democracy movement in Belarus during and after the 2020 presidential elections, calls on the Commission and the EU Member States to continue supporting entrepreneurship in Belarus;
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 d (new)
Paragraph 10 d (new)
10d. Reminds all EU businesses operating in Belarus of its previous call to exercise particular diligence and uphold their responsibility to respect human rights, in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: asks them to refrain from any new investment and to publicly protest to the Belarusian authorities against the continuing repression of workers and citizens in general;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 e (new)
Paragraph 10 e (new)
10e. Expresses solidarity with Belarusians seeking to protect and nurture their national identity, particularly efforts to spread the use of Belarusian language; deplores recent sentencing of art manager Pavel Belavus to 13 years in prison for his activities in promoting Belarusian language and culture; commits to increasing its communication in Belarusian language, notably translation of its reports and resolutions on Belarus and Eastern Partnership policies into Belarusian language and calls upon other EU institutions to follow;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 f (new)
Paragraph 10 f (new)
10f. Condemns the harassment of religious and national minorities in Belarus, notably the Lithuanian and Polish minorities, as illustrated by the forced closure of Lithuanian and Polish schools, the prohibition and disbandment of Lithuanian and Polish associations on far-fetched grounds, and the destruction of Polish cemeteries, graves and monuments; denounces the detention and sentencing of Union of Poles activist Andrzej Poczobut on political grounds; calls on the Belarusian regime to cease immediately this multifaceted persecution of national minorities, and to uphold their rights, including the right to education in their native languages;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 g (new)
Paragraph 10 g (new)
10g. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to continue and broaden support for the cultural and educational activities of the Belarusian civil society and academic institutions, including those directed to the support of Belarusian language, including independent media;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1 c (new)
Subheading 1 c (new)
Support for democracy and European aspirations
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 i (new)
Paragraph 10 i (new)
10i. Highlights that Belarus shares historical ties and heritage of European culture and identity and based on aspirations by the people of Belarus should remain a part of European political, cultural and economic space;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 j (new)
Paragraph 10 j (new)
10j. Warmly acknowledges and supports declarations about the European aspirations of Belarusians made by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the leaders of democratic political parties; welcomes the opening in Brussels, on 1 March 2023, of the official Mission of Democratic Belarus; calls on the EU institutions to develop relations with the Coordination Council, the United Transitional Cabinet and other groupings of representatives of democratic forces, and to further engage with the Mission of Democratic Belarus in Brussels;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls for the EU, its institutions and its Member States to develop a more ambitious and comprehensive strategy in order to support democratic forces, civil society activists, human rights defenders, independent trade unions and free media both in and outside Belarus, with a view to fostering a democratic transition in this country and to upholding the independence and sovereignty of Belarus; calls for comprehensive capacity-building programs, including trainings on legal expertise for the legislation drafts, digital and personal security, mentoring initiatives, traineeships and other educational opportunities to empower these actors and nurture their potential; calls for improved EU communication with the people in Belarus in order to provide them with information and counter disinformation and propaganda by the state-controlled media; urges the EU Member States to foster people-to-people contacts between their own populations and the Belarusian people, and to coordinate their actions in order to alleviate the difficulties faced by democratic forces and civil society activists in exile, for example in the process of obtaining residence permits or opening bank accounts; acknowledges the work of the EU civil society in supporting their Belarusian counterparts and assisting Belarusians during the process of relocation, and calls upon the EU and its Member States to further enable their work;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls upon the Council to review and update its conclusions on Belarus by focusing on pre-emption and containment of security risks posed by the Lukashenka regime, effective EU public policy and engagement with the people of Belarus, including those in exile, structured cooperation with the Belarusian democratic forces and civil society and support for the victims of the Lukashenka regime;
Amendment 254 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Calls on the Commission, Council, the HR/VP and the Member States to maintain international attention and support for the pro-democracy movement in Belarus, particularly to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her led the United Transitional Cabinet, which has shifted in the wake of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Welcomes the Commission’s approval of the support programme “EU4Belarus: Supporting societal resilience and human capital development”, which aims to support the democratic aspirations in Belarus; considers that such support is essential in order to preserve the changes in Belarusian society that emerged from the peaceful pro-democracy movement during the 2020 presidential elections;
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 d (new)
Paragraph 11 d (new)
11d. Insists that EU4Belarus funds be strategically channelled into activities to support the European aspirations of the people of Belarus;
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 e (new)
Paragraph 11 e (new)
11e. Insists that a significant proportion of EU financial support should continue to be channelled through flexible and impartial EU mechanisms, such as the European Endowment for Democracy (EED), which would ensure good targeting and accountability for civil society, independent media and pro- democracy groups;
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 f (new)
Paragraph 11 f (new)
11f. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to continue to support Belarus’ independent media, which was decimated after 2020 Presidential elections and had to relocate and rebuild its activities; urges support for digitalisation and creation of spaces for pro-democracy civic and political participation of Belarusians; welcomes the opening of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty office in Lithuanian working to provide credible media service for Russian-speakers in Belarus;
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 g (new)
Paragraph 11 g (new)
11g. Highlights the importance of continuously strengthening links and cooperation between Belarus and the European youth and academic community; welcomes the EU's allocation of financial resources to provide educational opportunities for Belarusian students and professionals, and expects that such support will be continued, by ensuring that Belarusians are substantially included in EU programmes such as Erasmus+ and the Horizon Europe, and by supporting a number of initiatives in the Member States, such as the Belarusian university in exile: the European University for Humanities in Vilnius;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 h (new)
Paragraph 11 h (new)
11h. Expresses its concern about the transparency, freedom and fairness of the 2024 parliamentary and local elections in Belarus, in particular in the light of new legal restrictions on political parties and statements by the Central Electoral Commission questioning the importance of international election observation and the role of the OSCE ODIHR;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 i (new)
Paragraph 11 i (new)
11i. Condemns the new law on political parties adopted in February 2023, which is clearly aimed at hindering and deterring the activities of democratic forces by imposing additional restrictions and obligations to register with the Ministry of Justice; takes the view that this law deliberately attempts to prevent democratic parties from taking part in the 2024 parliamentary elections;
Amendment 269 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 j (new)
Paragraph 11 j (new)
11j. Calls upon the leadership of the Belarusian democratic forces to maintain unity and continue to employ innovative methods to engage the people of Belarus, particularly in Belarus, to maintain their trust and faith in democratic change, and to mobilize them in the upcoming elections;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 k (new)
Paragraph 11 k (new)
11k. Calls on the national political parties of the Member States and European political parties to further develop their cooperation and support for democratic political parties in Belarus;