The EU should focus more on Belarusian society
Lithuania may be in a position to bring new impetus to the strained relations between Minsk and Brussels
Relations between the EU and Belarus have been anything but a success story. A new low was reached in 2012, when the tightening of EU sanctions led to a diplomatic crisis. But there have been recent signs of détente; Brussels has lifted its travel embargo against the Belarusian foreign minister. “But the EU is still putting too much weight on symbolic gestures. In doing so, it is missing the opportunity to enter into dialogue with society,” says DGAP expert Maria Davydchyk.