The Belarusian issue is being discussed at the plenary session of European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, January 19. The meeting began at 16:00 Belarusian time; the situation in Belarus was under the third number on agenda. Meanwhile, the Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said that there was little time left for the introduction of EU sanctions against Belarus.
As the press service of the European Parliament, the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, who will make a speech before the MEP, is expected to favor the imposition of sanctions against Belarusian officials. Then the European Parliament will discuss a draft resolution on the situation in Belarus, and voting will take place on January 20.
According to the Foreign Minister of Sweden, the EU is close to the introduction of visa restrictions on Belarusian authorities, accused by a number of international observers and the Belarus opposition of vote rigging in the presidential elections, held on December 19, 2010, reports AP.
Carl Bildt noted that the EU current list of banned representatives of the Belarusian authorities would include more persons than it used to be in 2006-2008. The EU member states are expected to come soon to an agreement on sanctions, and «we are working on compiling a list during the discussion» of Belarusian issue, added the Swedish minister at a press conference after a meeting with representatives of the Belarusian opposition on January 19.
