Eiliniai posėdžiai

The meeting included the following items:

• Debriefing by Mr Bogdan A. ZDROJEWSKI, Chair of the Delegation for relations with Belarus and Co-Chair Euronest PA Working Group on Belarus, on the ad hoc mission of the Bureau of the Delegation to Minsk (28-30 October 2018)
• Exchange of views with representatives of the Belarusian opposition on the current political situation in Belarus
• Exchange of views on the state of play of relations between the EU and Belarus and the negotiations on the Partnership Priorities

Speakers:

• Mr Dirk LORENZ, Deputy Head of Division for Eastern Partnership - Bilateral relations, European External Action Service (EEAS);
• Mr Lawrence MEREDITH, Director for Neighbourhood East, Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), European Commission

In the meeting of the Euronest PA Working Group on Belarus the following topics were discussed:

• Exchange of views with Mr Dirk SCHUEBEL, Head of Division for "Eastern Partnership - Bilateral" at the EEAS and Mr Lawrence MEREDITH, Director for "Neighbourhood East" at the European Commission's DG NEAR, on the state of play of relations between the European Union and Belarus
• Exchange of views with Mr Alexander KREMER, Country Manager for Belarus at the World Bank, and Mr Luca GATTINI, Regional economist for Eastern Neighbourhood at the European Investment Bank (EIB) on economic perspectives and reforms in Belarus
• Exchange of views with representatives of the Belarusian opposition on the current economic situation in Belarus
  

The following topic was discussed:
Presentation of a study on 'Human rights in Belarus: The EU's role since 2016', in the presence of the Belarusian Association of Journalists

The meeting included the following items:

• Outcome of the local elections held in Belarus on 18 February 2018

Speakers:
- Mr Kent HÄRSTEDT, Vice-Chairman of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and Chairman of its Ad Hoc Working Group on Belarus;
- Mr Valiantsin STEFANOVIC, Vice-President of the Belarusian Human Rights Centre "Viasna" and election-expert

• State of play in the negotiation of the EU-BY Partnership Priorities and recent developments in the EU-Belarus relations

Speakers:
- Mr Lawrence MEREDITH, Director for Neighbourhood East, Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), European Commission
- Mr Dirk SCHUEBEL, Head of Division, Eastern Partnership bilateral, European External Action Service (EEAS)

The meeting included an exchange of views with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Mr Francis MALIGE, Managing Director, Eastern Europe and the Caucasus on economic perspective and reform opportunities in Belarus.

The meeting included the following items:

- debriefing by Mr Bogdan A. ZDROJEWSKI, Chairman of the Delegation for relations with Belarus, on the mission of the Delegation for relations with Belarus to Minsk on 18-19 July 2017

- exchange of views Mr William ALBERQUE, Director, Arms Control, Disarmament, and WMD Non-Proliferation Centre at NATO HQ, on the Zapad 2017 exercise

- exchange of views with Mr Lawrence MEREDITH, Director for Neighbourhood East in the Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations in the European Commission, with Mr Boris IAROCHEVITCH, Head of Division for the Eastern Partnership, Regional Cooperation and OSCE in the European External Action Service and Mr Dirk LORENZ, Deputy Head of Division for the Eastern Partnership in the European External Action Service, on the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly from 30 October - 1 November 2017 in Kiev and the Eastern Partnership Summit on 24 November 2017 in Brussels.

The Delegation for relations with Belarus held an In Camera meeting on 10 July 2017 in Brussels for the preparation of their mission to Minsk on 18-19 July 2017.

The Euronest PA Working Group on Belarus in association with the EP Delegation for relations with Belarus, held their 11th meeting on 29 June 2017, in Brussels.
The Agenda included two exchange of views:

1. on the role of civil society in the field of education and, in particular, in the implementation of the Bologna process in Belarus
   Speakers:
   - Mr Vladimir DOUNAEV, Belarusian Independent Bologna Committee
   - Mr Lawrence MEREDITH, Director for Neighbourhood East, Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), European Commission
   -Mr Adam TYSON, Head of Higher Education Unit at DG Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, European Commission
   
2. on the dialogue with Belarus on migration, including labour mobility;
   Speaker:
   - Ms Silja KASMANN, International Relations Officer, Desk officer for Belarus, DG Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission.
   

During the meeting the planning of the working group's work for the second half of 2017 was also discussed.

The meeting included an exchange of views on the 26th OSCE PA Annual Session in Minsk on 5-9 July 2017 with:

• Mr Kent HÄRSTEDT, Vice-Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and Chair of its Ad Hoc Working Group on Belarus.

The following topic was discussed:
Exchange of views on the current human rights situation in Belarus.