EU slams Belarus, Ukraine in clash on human rights

(WARSAW) - Belarus and Ukraine won a sharp dressing-down from the European Union Friday at a key summit with ex-Soviet states, with Minsk rebuked for the jailing of opponents and Kiev over the trial of ex premier Yulia Tymoshenko.

Sticking firmly to a new EU policy of conditioning ties to respect for human rights, leaders of the 27-nation bloc demanded authoritarian Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko immediately free and rehabilitate hundreds of opponents thrown behind bars.

The joint condemnation issued at the close of a two-day Eastern Partnership summit was not signed, however, by leaders of five ex-Soviet states bidding to enhance relations with the EU -- Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

Belarus, also involved in the two-year-old partnership project to offer better trade, more aid, visa-free travel, and eventually EU membership, boycotted the summit in a huff after coming under a hail of criticism for Lukashenko's heavy-handed crackdown on dissent.

"The behaviour of the regime toward the opposition is completely unacceptable," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of several European leaders to meet with Belarussian dissidents in Warsaw ahead of the summit.

The chair of the Belarus delegation at the summit table in consequence stood empty.

Lukashenko could not attend the summit as he is under an EU travel ban due to human rights abuses by the Minsk regime and there were hints from EU leaders that further sanctions could follow.

The Belarussian foreign ministry complained the country was being victimised, with Lukashenko not invited and its head of delegation -- an ambassador -- "restricted in attending the events of the summit".

"These actions represent a blatant violation of the basic principles of the Eastern Partnership," a ministry statement said. "In such conditions participation is not possible as a partnership cannot be based on discrimination."

But the final EU statement said the bloc remained committed to deeper ties with Belarus "while reaffirming its policy of critical engagement."

"Such a deepening is conditional on progress towards respect by the Belarussian authorities for democracy, the rule of law and human rights."

Poland, pushing a carrot-and-stick deal for fresh EU trade and aid to cash-strapped Belarus, pending rights progress, said it regretted that Lukashenko "is isolating a nation of 10 million people from beneficial cooperation with Europe."

There was also concern, albeit less, over rights abuse in Ukraine, with EU president Herman Van Rompuy saying leaders considered the trial of ex Orange Revolution leader Tymoshenko "a serious matter".

With President Viktor Yanukovych on hand, "we expressed our concerns about the fate of the former prime minister and we expressed our rejection of the possible selective use of judicial measures against members of the former administration," Van Rompuy said.

The trial of the former premier, a bitter rival of Yanukovych, has snagged Kiev's ambitions for better trade and visa ties with the EU.

Asked whether it harmed Kiev's bid to draw closer to the EU club, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, host of the summit, said: "We believe that the bad treatment of the opposition and the violation of standards infringes very gravely these aspirations and can have an impact on negotiations."

"We do notice good will from the Ukraine authorities," he added. "However we will see how the situation develops."

Part of the EU's 2004 "big-bang" expansion from 15 members, Poland, which took the six-month rotating helm of the EU in July, hopes to strengthen links between the bloc and fellow countries from behind the former Iron Curtain.

Ukraine notably hopes to conclude talks on an association agreement with the EU, that includes a free trade deal, ahead of an EU-Ukraine summit in December which would also open a market of 60 million people to crisis-hit Europe.

A joint statement by the 27 plus five, that also made references to Belarus' chances for closer ties with Europe, said negotiations on free trade deals with Georgia and Moldova could start by the end of 2011.

"Our partners to the east remain a priority for the EU," Van Rompuy said.

But at its heart it is a community of values," he added. "They guide our policies."

Joint Declaration of the Eastern Partnership Summit - Warsaw, 29-30 September 2011

Eastern Partnership Summit in Warsaw