Send Print Share

Europe and the reshaped global order / Policy Brief

The EU and Belarus after the election

26/01/2011 By Balázs Jarábik, Jana Kobzova , Andrew Wilson

After a rigged election that gave President Lukashenka 79 percent of the votes, over 600 Belarusians were arrested, including nine opposition candidates. But the post-election crackdown was not a sign of the regime’s strength but of its internal weakness, which has become increasingly visible since the last elections in 2006.
 
To avoid becoming a hostage to Moscow, Lukashenka may be keen on reaching out to Europe. The EU now has an opportunity to regain the initiative in its relationship with Belarus. It should follow a combination of targeted and ‘smart’ isolation, selective sanctions and engagement.

Download the full version of this publication, available in English (268 kB)

To read or listen to the comments of our experts in the media about this and other topics, please visit our Press section.

Keywords

Belarus Democracy Elections

Related publications

• Belarus
• Belarus: are the scales tipping?
• Buffer Rus: new challenges for EU policy towards Belarus
• Elections in Belarus: regime change?

Bio author: Balázs Jarábik

Belarus. Ukraine. Russia. Caucasus. Central Asia. Eurasia. Commonwealth of Independent States.Democracy promotion.

Bio author: Jana Kobzova

ECFR's Russia and Wider Europe programme coordinator.

Bio author: Andrew Wilson

Senior policy fellow at ECFR.