Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs to discuss the situation in Belarus in an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday
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24. August 2020 In Aktuell, EN

Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs to discuss the situation in Belarus in an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday

MEPs will debate the recent developments in Belarus after the 9 August presidential election with opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and EEAS Secretary General Helga Schmid.

When: Tuesday 25 August, from 11.00 to 13.00

Where: European Parliament in Brussels, Antall building, room 4Q1, and via videoconference.

After the falsified elections in Belarus, Foreign Affairs Committee Chair David McAllister and Vice-Chair Witold Waszczykowski made a statement regretting that the presidential election that took place in Belarus “once again failed to meet basic democratic standards” and welcomed the unprecedented mobilisation of the Belarusian society.

“I am happy that Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Helga Schmid followed the invitation to give a statement in our committee. This debate on Belarus is important and timely to signal our solidarity with the Belarusian people”, explained Foreign Affairs Committee Chair David McAllister.

At an emergency summit held via video conference on 19 August, EU leaders said they do not recognize the elections in Belarus as neither free nor fair and announced sanctions against individuals responsible for violence, repression, and election fraud.

European Parliament President David Sassoli commented the situation to EU leaders by stressing that the future of Belarus can only be determined by its own citizens through a normal democratic process safeguarding their freedoms.

You can follow the Foreign Affairs Committee meeting live.

Background

Presidential elections were held in Belarus on Sunday, 9 August 2020, with long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko claiming victory despite allegations by the opposition and international community of vote-rigging. The election result was met by large protests, unprecedented state violence and discontent in Belarusian society that have continued since the election day.