The decision has been made – the European Union withdrew the trade preferences from Belarus. From now on, Belarus will not be able to export certain goods to the EU market under privileged conditions. You can read more about it here.
“This means that EU doesn’t believe the threat of Belarus uniting with Russia as imminent,” reads the web editorial of Nasha Niva titled “Digestive Disorder”. “The European Union has no problem with Belarus redirecting its exports to Russia. EU believes that the economic sanctions will be effective. EU believes that it is possible to change the political regime in Belarus, and doesn’t rule out the economic destabilization of the country in the nearest future”.
Nasha Niva sees this as an opportunity for the Belarusian opposition: “The national interest of Belarus – to fight for the return of the preferences. The oppositional diplomacy can and should get involved with this problem. It should see it as a chance”.
Meanwhile, the USA pays attention to Belarus as well. George Bush has renewed sanctions against Aliaksandr Lukashenka and nine of his top officials for the alleged “extraordinary threat” to the United States. A short article about it can be found here, at the web-site of the Office for a Democratic Belarus, operating in Brussels. This link is also worth clicking since it shows you a splendid photo of the Belarusian president. It was probably made during his rare visit to the USA, when Lukashenka was still young and the US. Government hasn’t seen him as a major threat.
