EU support to Belarusian people reaches €170 million since August 2020
Following the fraudulent presidential elections in Belarus in August 2020, the European Union has mobilised €170 million for civil society, human rights defenders, independent media, educational and cultural institutions, and small and medium sized businesses in exile.
These figures are presented in a factsheet published today by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, as part of the Belarus Days.
This assistance has been recalibrated away from Belarusian public authorities and state-owned enterprises and towards non-state actors.
The document also says the EU holds regular consultations with Belarusian democratic forces and civil society to identify the needs of the people of Belarus. Thanks to the ongoing dialogue, more than 3,000 victims of repression have received legal, monetary, medical, psychological and relocation support and hundreds of civic activists have received support to continue their work.
The EU also supports the Belarusian independent media in providing objective, fact-based information to citizens in urban and rural areas across the country.
More than 130 cultural professionals have received mobility support to forge new partnerships, participate in international cultural events and enhance their skills. Around 110 grants were awarded for cultural projects.
In education, more than 3,300 students received scholarships and support to study abroad, 700-plus professionals benefited from mobility support, and 3,000-plus women took online introductory courses in IT and soft skills.
The EU has also supported Belarusian business in exile, providing more than 500+ advisory services to small and medium-sized businesses and involving 4,000-plus businesses in exile in business education programmes.
The factsheet also reminds that once Belarus embarks on a democratic transition, the EU will activate a €3 billion investment package to help Belarus stabilise its economy and reform its institutions.
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