How half-hearted sanctions put the future of Belarus at risk
The EU is currently assembling its fifth package of sanctions on Belarus. Here is what European governments and the Belarusian opposition should draw from how things have gone so far.
Belarus
Belarus’s creature of crisis: Two heads, one body
A year on from the falsified presidential election, two Belaruses now occupy the international arena. Neither the West nor Russia will be able to change this reality, but each will have to learn to live with both.
The EU and Belarus: First steps to flexing European geopolitical muscle
The arrest of Raman Pratasevich changed the calculus for EU capitals, which agreed new sanctions with real bite. The EU could finally be succeeding in its search for strategic sovereignty.
How the EU should respond to Belarus
What will be the impact of the EU and US measures against Belarus? And what should be next steps also ahead of the EU-US summit on 15 June?
After the Pratasevich arrest: Four key steps for the EU on Belarus
Belarus will continue to cause problems on the EU’s doorstep – so it is now time for a firmer, longer-term approach
Happy birthday, Eastern Partnership: Celebrations deferred, not cancelled
The EU’s success is mixed in generating reform among Eastern Partnership countries. But patience and self-confidence remain its best bet for the future.
Belarus’s brutal politics
What kind of implications do the developments in Belarus have for the wider neighbourhood and Europe?
The impossible stalemate: How the Belarus face-off could go on and on
Aliaksandr Lukashenka rewrote the rules to keep himself in power. But it did not succeed in 2020 – and the EU will not be able to remain a spectator to Belarus’s problems forever
The long year: Top foreign policy trends for 2021
Mark Leonard and Jeremy Shapiro predict ten bright and bold policy projections for the year to come
27 Jan
The EU and Belarus in 2021
How is Europe planning to keep Belarus on the agenda and will it provide more political support for Belarusian civil society?
Publications
Lessons from Belarus: How the EU can support clean elections in Moldova and Georgia
The EU should make use of its significant leverage in Georgia and Moldova to counter their ruling parties’ extensive repertoire of electoral dirty tricks
Articles
How half-hearted sanctions put the future of Belarus at risk
The EU is currently assembling its fifth package of sanctions on Belarus. Here is what European governments and the Belarusian opposition should draw from how things have gone so far.
Belarus’s creature of crisis: Two heads, one body
A year on from the falsified presidential election, two Belaruses now occupy the international arena. Neither the West nor Russia will be able to change this reality, but each will have to learn to live with both.
The EU and Belarus: First steps to flexing European geopolitical muscle
The arrest of Raman Pratasevich changed the calculus for EU capitals, which agreed new sanctions with real bite. The EU could finally be succeeding in its search for strategic sovereignty.
After the Pratasevich arrest: Four key steps for the EU on Belarus
Belarus will continue to cause problems on the EU’s doorstep – so it is now time for a firmer, longer-term approach
Happy birthday, Eastern Partnership: Celebrations deferred, not cancelled
The EU’s success is mixed in generating reform among Eastern Partnership countries. But patience and self-confidence remain its best bet for the future.
The impossible stalemate: How the Belarus face-off could go on and on
Aliaksandr Lukashenka rewrote the rules to keep himself in power. But it did not succeed in 2020 – and the EU will not be able to remain a spectator to Belarus’s problems forever
The long year: Top foreign policy trends for 2021
Mark Leonard and Jeremy Shapiro predict ten bright and bold policy projections for the year to come
10 Venezuelan lessons for the Belarusian opposition
2021 will be a crucial year for the future of Belarus; in Venezuela, the future looks bleak. The Belarusian protesters can look and learn from the experience of the Venezuelan opposition.
Glass half full: The EU’s policy on Belarus
The current renaissance of civil society in Belarus has been possible thanks to, among other things, the development of the EU’s dialogue with the country in recent years
Lukashenka besieged: Russia’s plans for Belarus
Unrest in Belarus has forced Moscow to look for new ways to strengthen its political and economic control in the country
Podcasts
How the EU should respond to Belarus
What will be the impact of the EU and US measures against Belarus? And what should be next steps also ahead of the EU-US summit on 15 June?
Belarus’s brutal politics
What kind of implications do the developments in Belarus have for the wider neighbourhood and Europe?
Protest movement in Belarus: Will Lukashenko survive the current state (of) crisis?
In this week’s episode, Jeremy Shapiro stepped in as host and welcomes senior policy fellows Kadri Liik and Andrew Wilson as well as political scientist…
ECFR’s World in 30 Minutes: Ukraine and Belarus
With an EU-Ukraine summit coming up this month, in this episode of World in 30 Minutes Mark Leonard, Director of ECFR, speaks to Kadri Liik…
In the media
Thanks to Svetlana Tikhanovskaïa, the Belarus crisis is on centre stage – a thing that the leaders of opposition never made happen before
The Belarusian people who work in tech not only want economic impact, but they want to transform it into political influence
Pavel Slunkin looks at why so many Belarusians have become politically involved since 2020
For companies, especially in the energy sector, this means one thing above all: they have to assess geopolitical risks, analyse their risk exposure and examine different political scenarios
Jonathan Hackenbroich and the Agora Strategy Group analyse which further escalation steps in Belarus could still threaten the energy sector
Tikhanovskaya’s US visit is perhaps her most important foreign trip yet because of Washington’s power and influence. High-level meetings will send strong signals over the Atlantic
Pavel Slunkin believes that Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s trip to the United States is the most important one she’s carried out to date
Pavel Slunkin published an op-ed in Ouest France on the solutions to the Belarus crisis