The European Commission will mobilise an additional €30 million “to further strengthen its support to the people of Belarus”. This new funding, announced in Brussels today, “will complement and expand the already existing EU support for youth, independent media, small and medium-sized enterprises in exile, and culture”. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “The EU stands by the people of Belarus in their fight for freedom and democracy. We will step up our support with a new €30 million for youth, independent media, SMEs in exile and cultural actors – that the Lukashenko regime continues to repress. And we have a €3 billion economic and investment package ready to go for a democratic Belarus. The drive for freedom of the Belarusian people is an inspiration to us all”.
The objective of this increased assistance is to “strengthen the resilience and capacity of the Belarusian people affected by the political crisis to promote democratic changes” with focus on key priority areas, including: independent media; people-to-people contacts, “especially among youth, academic staff, and professionals, providing opportunities for international mobility to students, academic staff, and professionals, and continuing support to the European Humanities University”; supporting companies “in exile”, including through advisory services; and cultural and art initiatives.