Opening of European Commission office in Minsk not to influence cancellation of preferences

One of EU officials (a representative of the European Commission in Minsk Yanis Aizsalnieks) informed a Belgian edition “EUobserver” about it.



Yanіs Aizsalnіeks: “These two issues cannot be connected because they concern different sides of cooperation between the European Commission and Belarus. The question about opening the representative office was discussed many years ago. There is a representative office of Belarus in the EU in Brussels, so the European Commission can have a representative office in Belarus too.



The problem of trade preferences is connected with the respect of recommendations of the International Labour Organization”.




The Generalised System of Preferences is a system of customs facilities given by developed countries to developing states. The system embraces 77 countries including former Soviet republics that have not been included in the EU yet.



Only countries protecting human rights, especially the rights of independent trade unions, can make use of the system of trade preferences giving them a 10% discount for customs facilities.




The procedure of cancellation of trade benefits for Belarus was initiated by the EU Initiative advisory council in August 2005 in connection with information about violation of trade unions’ rights in our country. International trade unions’ organizations have turned to the EU many times asking to cancel the Generalised System of Preferences for Belarus.




Rumours about possibilities to preserve the preferences started being distributed after Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed that the opening of the representative office of the European Commission was an act of good will of Belarus and that our country was waiting for a proper response from the European Union.



But it is obvious that the EU officials consider the permission of the Belarusian authorities as a response to their actions but not vice versa.




Europe thinks that Belarus may lose up to 400 millions euro per year when the preferences are cancelled. No “casual” losses are included in this sum.




The prices for Belarusian goods imported in the EU will go up by 10% after the preferences are cancelled. It will negatively affect their competitive ability.



Expensive Belarusian goods may be replaced by cheaper goods and a number of Belarusian enterprises may lose not only 10% of the goods’ price but may lose the European market itself.




Belarus will be excluded from the Generalised System of Preferences on June 21, 2007. Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid it. Still, the head of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic trade unions Alyaksandr Yarashuk thinks that our country has a chance to receive the preferences again later.




Alyaksandr Yarashuk: “If something is done to respect recommendations it may be possible to start the procedure of returning the preferences two months after they are cancelled”.




But will the Belarusian authorities respect the recommendations of the International Labour Organization worried about interference of the authorities in the work of trade unions, dismissals of trade union leaders, liquidation of the system of trade-union dues and many other things? It is a rhetorical question.

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