EU offers Belarus aid and trade

By Oana Lungescu
BBC News, Brussels

The EU thinks Belarus would benefit from an end to its isolation

The EU has offered Belarus more aid, trade and easier visas if it makes progress on human rights and democracy.

External affairs commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said Belarusians had a right to know what they were missing because of their country's isolation.

The EU froze the assets of senior officials and banned them from the EU after presidential elections in March were judged neither free nor fair.

Western diplomats have described Belarus as Europe's last dictatorship.

The EU insists it is not changing the policy of sanctions towards the country's leaders - the sticks are staying, but the carrots are more clearly on offer.

Prisoner release

Ms Benita Ferrero-Waldner said Belarus could benefit from the same EU help as its neighbour Ukraine - more cash to upgrade the economy, the roads and the energy networks, better trade, easier travel and more scholarships for students.

I really hope the government of Belarus will really take this opportunity to begin the reforms their people need Benita Ferrero-Waldner

But in exchange, she asked for the release of all political prisoners, an end to the harassment of opposition activists, democratic elections, free media and a ban on the death penalty.

"I really hope that the people of Belarus will see this paper as a chance to look towards a democratic future and that the government of Belarus will really take this opportunity to begin the reforms their people need and thus end their self-imposed isolation," she said.

Opposition leaders have welcomed the EU proposals as proof that the people of Belarus can count on Europe.

EU officials say the timing is coincidental, but the offer could increase pressure on President Alexander Lukashenko at a delicate moment - just eight weeks before local elections and amid growing threats from his traditional ally, Russia, to raise the price of gas supplies by 400% from next year.