The results of the meeting in Chisinau, draft Strategy of the EaP CSF for 2014-2016 and a letter to the EaP Summit in Vilnius were high on the agenda at the Conference of the Belarusan National Platform.

The Conference of the Belarusan National Platform of the EaP CSF “Future of the Civil Society Forum in the focus of the III Eastern Partnership Summit” took place on November 4, 2013 in Minsk.

The participants of the Conference summed up the results of the EaP SCF meeting in Chisinau. Along with the important positive results the Conference also took notice of the mistakes. Besides, during the Conference the name of the National Platform was qualified. Now the correct way to refer to it is the Belarusan National Platform of the EaP CSF.

The Conference of the Belarusan National Platform has also introduced its comments into the draft EaP SCF Strategy for 2014-2016. “The tendency of changes in the mission is alarming, as the role of the experts at the Forum increases, and the role of the civil society in political decision-making processes is decreasing,” noted earlier Andrei Yahorau, Belarusan National Coordinator of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum,  analyzing the suggested Strategy.

Upon giving his analysis of the Strategy, Ulad Vialichka, the chairperson of the Coordination Committee of the Belarusan National Platform of the EaP CSF, suggested making the Forum of the civil society a biennial event: “Management structures could be elected for 2 years, not for a year, which would provide us with a possibility to organize the Forums in a different way, i.e. concentrate on content, not on the procedures,” the expert explained.

The finale of the Conference was the resolution “Future of the Civil Society Forum in the focus of the III EaP Summit”. On the eve of the Eastern Partnership Summit, which is to take place in Vilnius on November 28-29, National Platform stated that after 5 years of its existence, Eastern Partnership program introduced by the EU managed to draw a number of post-Soviet countries on the way of consistent European integration.

However, Belarusan National Platform also voiced its concerns over a number of tendencies.

“Belarus’ non-participation in the Eastern Partnership because of inactivity of the official Minsk poses a threat to change the situation for the worse after the EaP Summit. Basically, after the EaP Summit all countries-members of the Eastern Partnership run a risk of being divided into two unequal parts — those who are successful in the program and those lacking behind. It means the level of attention to Belarus from the EU can be considerably lowered. We make efforts in order for the EU to be attentive to Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia in the future.

We also attract the attention of the Belarusan authorities to the necessity of representation at the Summit in Vilnius,” emphasized Andrei Yahorau, the Country Facilitator for Belarus of the EaP CSF.

The participants of the National Platform demanded Belarusan representation no less than that by the Foreign Ministry Office.

The Conference calls upon the Summit in Vilnius to make everything possible to decrease the level of confrontation and debatable questions between the Customs Union and Eastern Partnership development processes.

EuroBelarus Information Service got comments from Siarhei Mackevich, the head of the working group of the Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs of Belarus, who summed up the results of the Conference:

“We had a serious discussion of Forum results in Moldova with quite critical remarks. The Forum demonstrated that we can take the wrong direction. One more such event can lead to stagnation of the Forum; so we have to improve the situation when it is still possible. Belarusan National Platform won’t let the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum to be derailed.

We gave the instructions to the Eastern Partnership Summit that is to take place in Vilnius. There are countries, which are actively aiming at European integration; and there are countries which are found in rearguard. There shouldn’t be made any division on favorites and outsiders among the participants of the Eastern Partnership.”

Ulad Vialichka, the chairperson of the Coordination Committee of the Belarusan National Platform of the EaP CSF, has also commented on the results of the Conference:

“The adopted resolution, which is also a letter to the EaP Summit in Vilnius, is very important, as National Platform has noted a whole number of alarming points as to the role and place of Belarus in the Eastern Partnership. Since the formation of the EaP program Belarus has been continually losing its position there, which, of course, cannot but affect the European future of our country.

We have considered the internal problems of the Forum’s development as well as a number of technical documents, which organize the work of the National Platform. We have practically adopted our schedule for the next six months, only without a timetable, which is still not that bad for a one-day conference.”

EuroBelarus Information Service