On the Visit of the Belarusian Delegation to Brussels

10-07-2014

On July 8-10, 2014 a delegation of Belarus headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Ms.Alena Kupchyna visited Brussels to take part in the second round of consultations on modernisation issues with the European Union.

The delegation included representatives of the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Economy. Mr.Gunnar Wiegand, Director for Russia, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia, regional cooperation and the OSCE at the European External Action Service (EEAS) chaired the delegation of the EEAS and European Commission experts.

The parties discussed at length matters related to trade and investment promotion. They exchanged views on the application of international and European standards, financial aid to export and export risk insurance, intellectual property protection, improving investment and business climate in Belarus with EU support.

The consultations on modernization aim primarily at mapping out the best future form of cooperation between the Government of Belarus and the EU.

It was agreed that the next round will take place in September with the focus on energy, transport and environment.

During the visit, Ms.Alena Kupchyna had a number of high-level meetings at the European Commission and the EEAS.

She discussed in particular the evolution of relations between Belarus and the EU with the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Mr.Štefan Füle.

Ms.Alena Kupchyna exchanged views with Ms.Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner on International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, on cooperation prospects between Belarus and the EU in the area of combatting emergencies.

The conversation with the Commission’s Director General on Home Affairs Mr.Matthias Ruete focussed on the ongoing Belarus – EU talks on draft visa facilitation and readmission agreements.