EU steps up support to the people of Belarus with new €30 million package
The European Commission will mobilise an additional €30 million to further strengthen its support to the people of Belarus. This new funding will complement and expand the already existing EU support for youth, independent media, small and medium-sized enterprises in exile, and culture.
This increased assistance will focus on key priority areas, including:
- Independent media (through technical assistance and training, and establishing of a donor coordination structure).
- People-to-people contacts, especially among youth, academic staff, and professionals (opportunities for international mobility and continuing support to the European Humanities University).
- Entrepreneurs and SMEs in exile (including through advisory services).
- Cultural and art initiatives (grants to cultural and art initiatives, and to artistic professionals’ skills development, both in Belarus and by Belarusian artists abroad).
Since the falsification of the presidential election in 2020 and unprecedented wave of repression on civil society by the Lukashenko regime, the new disbursement will bring the EU’s overall assistance to the people of Belarus to close to €65 million.
“The EU stands by the people of Belarus in their fight for freedom and democracy,” said the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. “The drive for freedom of the Belarusian people is an inspiration to us all.”
On 12 December, top EU officials met in Brussels with a group of representatives of democratic Belarus, including civil society representatives, human rights defenders and independent media in Brussels. The meeting took place ahead of Wednesday’s Eastern Partnership Summit.
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