mr president the commission is deeply concerned about the situation in belarus and particularly the developments in the wake of the violation of electoral standards at the presidential elections on nineteen december twenty ten
the crackdown is now further intensifying with a number of ongoing trials against ex-presidential candidates and most of the remaining detained activists
at the same time proceedings are ongoing which could result in the closure of two of the remaining independent newspapers and and the harassment of the political opposition civil society and the independent media continues
vice-president high representative ashton has made a number of general and specific statements on the situation in belarus
we have in clear words condemned the deteriorating situation and have repeatedly called upon belarus to end the ongoing crackdown on the political opposition and civil society release all political prisoners and discontinue the politically-motivated trials
we have also expressed our grave concern at reports of torture and other forms of ill-treatment intimidation and court irregularities
let me also remind you that in january the council adopted restrictive measures comprising a travel ban and an asset freeze
the list now comprises one hundred and seventy-five individuals which should be compared to the forty names put forward for an asset freeze and visa ban after the two thousand and six elections and we stand ready to include further names as warranted by developments
in addition we are considering options for further possible measures including on the economic side
in our messages we have made it clear that we want to continue our engagement with the belarusian people and civil society
we are moving ahead on the issue of visa facilitation
negotiating directives for visa facilitation and readmission agreements were adopted by the council on twenty-eight february and we are encouraging member states to make optimal use of the existing flexibilities offered by the visa code in particular the possibility of waiving and reducing visa fees for certain categories of citizens
in terms of assistance the commission is quadrupling its assistance to the belarusian population and civil society
we remain committed to a policy of critical engagement in belarus
this was made clear by the thirty-one january conclusions of the foreign affairs council
at the same time it is clear that any deepening of our bilateral relations will depend on belarus proving its willingness to respect the principles of democracy the rule of law and human rights
in conclusion let me say that the situation in belarus remains high on our agenda
i am glad to see that a large majority in this parliament is committed to continuing a serious debate about this and to resisting distractions
we shall continue to monitor developments closely and we stand ready to react as appropriate
