HUNGARY: EU SENDS DIPLOMATS TO BELARUS TO MONITOR HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AFTER MEETING WITH HUNGARIAN , POLISH AND CZECH PRIME MINISTERS

Record ID: 648719

  • Title: HUNGARY: EU SENDS DIPLOMATS TO BELARUS TO MONITOR HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AFTER MEETING WITH HUNGARIAN , POLISH AND CZECH PRIME MINISTERS
  • Date: 30th August 2005
  • Summary: (EU) BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (AUGUST 30, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. WIDE OF BUDAPEST WITH CHAIN BRIDGE 0.04 2. SLV ARRIVAL OF THE POLISH DELEGATION AT HOTEL 0.08 3. SLV HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER FERENC GYURCSANY GREETING POLISH PRIME MINISTER MAREK BELKA 0.20 4. SLV ARRIVAL OF CZECH DELEGATION 0.24 5. SLV GYURCSANY AND CZECH PRIME MINISTER JIRI PAROUBEK HUGGING EACH OTHER 0.31 6. SLV ARRIVAL OF DELEGATION OF PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, JOSE MANUEL BARROSO 0.36 7. VARIOUS OF GYURCSANY GREETING BARROSO 0.45 8. WIDE OF FAMILY PHOTO, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: PAROUBEK, BELKA, GYURCSANY AND BARROSO 0.52 9. PAN OF TALKS IN PROGRESS 0.57 10. CLOSE OF BARROSO LISTENING 1.02 11. CLOSE OF BELKA LISTENING 1.06 12. SLV PAROUBEK SPEAKING 1.08 13. CLOSE OF SLOVAK PRIME MINISTER MIKULAS DZURINDA WITH HEADPHONES 1.11 14. PAN OF TALKS IN PROGRESS 1.14 15. PAN OF NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY 1.21 16. CLOSE OF PHOTOGRAPHER FILMING 1.24 17. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, JOSE MANUEL BARROSO, SAYING: "We are concerned about the situation of those independent manifestations of the civil society in Belarus. We are also preparing a decision to send a charge d'affair to Minsk, so that he can follow on the ground the situation and of course we should, and our presence, the presence of the European Union as such is clear in that support to democracy and the support to freedom and human rights in Belarus." 1.58 18. SLV PHOTOGRAPHERS FILMING 2.01 19. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (Hungarian) HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER, FERENC GYURCSANY, SAYING: "We encourage the Commission, the president of the Commission to play an active and pro-active role in the compromises to be made in the next period, helping the Council, helping the Member States to find new joint solution, innovative solutions." 2.18 20. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, JOSE MANUEL BARROSO, SAYING: "I believe everything in the budget should be looked at. Reform is possible but we should not wait for the reform of the budget, fundamental reform, now to approve these financial objectives. We shall do it and I believe it is possible." 2.36 21. WIDE OF JOURNALISTS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS AT NEWS CONFERENCE 2.40 22. WIDE OF FAMILY PHOTO (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT) PAROUBEK, DZURINDA, AUSTRIAN PRESIDENT WOLFGANG SCHUSSEL, GYURCSANY, BELKA, SLOVENIAN PRIME MINISTER JANEZ JANSA AND BARROSO 2.45 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 14th September 2005 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
  • Country: Hungary
  • Reuters ID: LVA6L07ZSRS53M939S8TVN3QYDRX
  • Story Text: EU to send diplomat to Belarus to monitor rights.



    The European Commission is becoming increasingly
    concerned about human rights abuses in Belarus and will
    send a top diplomat there to get a better idea of the
    situation, Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said.

    Speaking on Tuesday (August 30, 2005) after meeting with the
    prime ministers of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and
    Slovakia, Barroso said the EU was very concerned with the
    situation of human rights in Belarus.

    "We are also preparing a decision to send a charge
    d'affair to Minsk, so that he can follow on the ground the
    situation and of course we should, and our presence, the
    presence of the European Union as such is clear in that
    rights in Belarus," Barroso said.

    The EU imposed sanctions on Belarus last year after
    alleging that President Alexander Lukashenko's
    administration had staged fraudulent elections.

    Belarus has been dubbed Europe's last dictatorship by
    U.S. officials, and Poland, which has a large ethnic
    minority in Belarus, has been particularly vocal in
    protesting about repression ahead of presidential elections
    due next year.

    The most recent incident saw Poland complain that
    Belarus had installed its own leaders of a Polish ethnic
    organisation after ousting the pro-Warsaw leadership.

    Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka told the news
    conference that all four east European countries at
    Tuesday's meeting backed Warsaw's position on Belarus.

    Belarus accuses Poland of trying to foment a
    Ukraine-style revolution.

    The meeting was a join summit made up of the Visegrad
    Group, Barroso, the Austrian president Wolfgang Schussel
    and the Prime Minister of Slovenia Janez Jansa.

    The Visegrad Group was founded in the Hungarian town of
    Visegrad in 1991 to promote trade and economic integration,
    and since all countries have now joined the European Union
    they are forging a new alliance within the EU.

    Tuesday's meeting was to discuss various issues of the
    EU agenda, primarily questions relating to the 2007-2013
    financial objectives.

    "We encourage the Commission, the president of the
    Commission to play an active and pro-active role in the
    compromises to be made in the next period, helping the
    Council, helping the Member States to find new joint
    solution, innovative solutions," said Hungarian Prime
    Minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany.

    Barosso said he believed everything in the budget
    should be considered.

    "I believe everything in the budget should be looked
    at. Reform is possible but we should not wait for the
    reform of the budget, fundamental reform, now to approve
    these financial objectives. We shall do it and I believe it
    is possible," he said.


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