European Parliament to adopt resolution on Belarus on January 20

MEPs will debate on Belarus on January 19, and vote on the agreed  text of the resolution on January 20, according to the agenda of the European Parliament's plenary session, which will take place on January 17-20 in Strasbourg (France). 

"MEPs will discuss December's rigged elections in Belarus, following which opposition leaders were jailed and demonstrators attacked by police. They will then vote on what sanctions the EU should impose on Belarus President Lukashenko and other government figures. Visa bans and a freeze on assets are high on the list of options", stated at the EP's web-site.

The Vice-President of the European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union Catherine Ashton is expected to make a corresponding statement with regard to Belarus during the debates on January 19.


Apart from that, it is not excluded that questions concerning  Belarus will be asked to the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso on January 18 during the one-hour procedure of answering the MEPs' questions by the official. 

It is expected that the text of the resolution on Belarus will be especially strict this time. The chairman of the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with Belarus Jacek Protasiewicz has informed to the European Radio for Belarus on January 11, that he will be satisfied if the text of the resolution includes three important moments - renewal of suspended sanctions against the Belarusian officials, simplification of the entering EU procedure for the Belarusian citizens, and suspension of Belarus' participation in the Eastern Partnership.