Did Alexander Lukashenko misuse EU funds in Belarus?
A video released by the opposition in Belarus accuses President Alexander Lukashenko of misusing EU funds. The European Union has long financially supported a variety of projects in the former Soviet republic.
President Lukashenko has been accused of using EU funds for himself
On Monday, the Belarusian opposition Telegram channel Nexta shared a video accusing authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko of having misappropriated EU funds. The clip was also uploaded to YouTube, where it had been viewed nearly 5 million times through Saturday a staggering figure for a country of 9.5 million people. The opposition newspaper
The visit of the Caucasian country’s head of state comes …
Asked if the post-Soviet country is not afraid that starting the application process may lead to the disillusionment of the population, as we have seen in some Western Balkan countries that have been stuck in the procedure for more than a decade, the politician answered that not delivering on promises of integration would also cause frustration.
“I don’t think that mood in Brussels should prevent Georgia from applying for membership,” Botchorishvili said.
“I myself was promised when I was a teenager that one day we will be part of the European Union … but I don’t want it to remain a promise for my daughters’ and my kids’ generation without [having] very concrete things done,” the 41-year old politician added.
This article is part of our special report EU ambitions unabated.
On its path towards the EU, Georgia will be expected to align itself with the EU’s ambitions laid out in the bloc’s Green Deal and reduce carbon emissions as it seeks to boost and modernise its economy, the European Commission told EURACTIV.
“The European Green Deal requires action by the EU and partner countries on the existing and future environmental and climate challenges, to turn these challenges into opportunities,” European Commission spokesperson for enlargement, Ana Pisonero, told this website.
“This is particularly valid for Georgia in a post-COVID era when recovery and modernisation of the economy have to be carried out taking into account the carbon footprint and environmental aspects,” she added.
But, delve a little deeper, and what emerges is a far more complex story.
It’s a tale that highlights the dysfunctional nature of postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina and is an insight into how much both the European Union and local authorities want to keep migrants off their respective doorsteps.
Bosnia has emerged as a staging post for EU-bound migrants in the last couple of years. Around 70,000 are estimated to have arrived in the country since January 2018, with only a small fraction claiming asylum.
The majority try and make it into the EU via Croatia, to the north.
But border closures as a result of COVID-19 and reports of illegal pushbacks mean many end up marooned in northern Bosnia.