Opinions & Interviews

“I have spent two eventful days in Belarus, meeting with the Belarusian authorities, representatives of the opposition and NGOs. As the PACE Rapporteur, I should keep my eye on the situation in your country. It is time the Council of Europe and Belarus should start looking in one direction. For this, we need to decide on some issues. We see that Belarus is showing its interest, its will and readiness to continue dialogue with the Council of Europe,” said Andrea Rigoni.

In his words, Belarus is showing its readiness to open up to the European values, but preserving its own culture and traditions. “We have a long way ahead. Democracy cannot be built at once. It is necessary for the society to be ready for it, and I see positive signals,” Andrea Rigoni stressed.

The PACE Rapporteur said that the EU is celebrating the 60^th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome this year. “After the end of World War II, we have been having 60 years of peace and prosperity. Do we want to return back to extremist nationalism, conflicts between countries, new dividing lines? We should strengthen unity, since nationalism and populism are very dangerous phenomena,” he noted.

Andrea Rigoni also commented on unauthorized rallies that have been recently taking place in Belarus. “It is important to secure the freedom of expression and protests, but, of course, in line with the country’s legislation. For instance, Italy is gearing up for five different protests on the occasion of the 60^th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome. They are all approved by the authorities. The main thing is that they should go in line with the Italian laws,” he stressed.