The EU and Belarus: seizing the opportunity?

Belarus’ domestic context and regional outlook have altered considerably, opening up opportunities for cooperation and change. This policy brief examines the EU’s approach to the country to discuss its policy success and failures, and how to make it more sustainable in the future. It advances three particular tenets, which could make Belarus more responsive, resilient and through inter-regional cooperation – more compatible: - Belarus, as a small state, prioritises a ‘balancing strategy’ with its greater regional powers. Acknowledging and engaging its geo-political complexity would make EU-Belarus cooperation more enduring - Belarus, like any other state in the eastern region, is normatively different, and requires a tailored approach to develop shared values. A more interest-driven technical cooperation may increase Belarus’ commitment and socialisation into the international system of norms and standards - The EU needs to recognise and engage with the EEU to increase its own leverage in the region. By empowering individual member states, it would contribute to their resilience as well as to making the EEU trading bloc more structurally sound, stable and open for dialogue. Recognising the above tenets is not about stating the obvious, but rather ensuring a more inclusive and sustainable nature of EU cooperation for the benefit of the wider region