The EU’s approach towards Belarus, in the context of the wider neighbourhood: Is there a strategy?

Moderator:

Katsiaryna Lozka, Research Fellow at the Oxford Belarus Observatory (OBO), PhD Fellow at Ghent University

Speakers:

Franak Viacorka, Chief Advisor to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

Dirk Schuebel, EEAS Special Envoy for the Eastern Partnership

Olga Dryndova, Editor "Belarus-Analysen", University of Bremen; European Network for Belarus

Ryhor Nizhnikau, Senior Research Fellow, Finnish Institute of International Affairs

The webinar will explore the European Union (EU)'s approach towards Belarus in the context of the wider neighbourhood, which arguably has been reactive and slow, including its response to human rights violations and widespread repression in Belarus in particular. Despite the EU’s commitment to supporting civil society and other stakeholders of democracy, its ability to exert geopolitical and economic pressure on the regime has been limited. This has been further exacerbated by the lack of the EU strategy towards Belarus, especially when all attention (and resources) are now given to Ukraine in the context of Russia’s aggression. Some would argue the EU’s response to the crisis in Belarus has been both slow in the making, and dispersed in terms of the key actors to target, including by sanctions. The first broader package of sanctions was only introduced nine months after the brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters in response to a threat to the EU's own security. At the same time it is clear that Belarus’ role in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has made it even more challenging for the EU to develop a coherent and effective policy towards Belarus.

How should the EU approach Belarus and Belarusians today? What are the lessons learnt from previous periods? What can it tell us about the EU's engagement with autocratic regimes? These and other questions will be discussed in a panel discussion organised by the Oxford Belarus Observatory, in partnership with the Research Center of  Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Office, and the IGSD, University of Warwick.

The discussion will be held online via ZOOM with simultaneous Belarusian translation and recorded. Please note that simultaneous translation is only available in Zoom.

Please register here.