Dobroe utro,

Dobroi rannitsy,

• I am honoured to open this conference, which is part of our common efforts to strengthen Belarus – Council of Europe relations.

• I strongly believe that our cooperation can only be beneficial for the Belarusian people. It will allow for the stronger involvement of Belarus in the common European legal space, through the commitment to CoE standards.

• Belarus has already an impressive record. It is party to 10 CoE treaties, including key conventions on corruption, trafficking, anti-doping, recognition of qualifications concerning higher education (Bologna process).

• Belarus also participates as a full member in important monitoring mechanisms such as GRECO - the ‘Group of States against Corruption’ and GRETA - the ‘Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings’ as well as in the partial agreement on sport EPAS.

• Belarus is not an ordinary non-member state, but a European country. Full membership continues to constitute a strategic objective for the Council of Europe.

• As party to the European Cultural Convention, Belarus is already now entitled to become Party to more than 10 further treaties in the field of culture and sport, as of right, without further invitation by the Committee of Ministers.

• The establishment of the Council of Europe Information Point in Minsk bears witness of increasingly close relations. Its main objective is to raise awareness about European standards and values. This is done in particular through the organisation, implementation and support of large spectrum of the Council of Europe events in the country.

• 2014-2015 saw an impressive increase of Council of Europe activities in Belarus with the active support of the MFA whenever necessary. Approximately 60 activities took place, more than 2000 persons coming from different segments of population as well as State Administration – took part in these events. Some 10 activities are foreseen until the end of the year.

• During the last year, experts from 19 Council of Europe member states came to Belarus to meet their counter-partners, to present their experience and exchange good practices. The Council of Europe had been visited by Belarusian academic specialists, students, journalists, representatives of civil society and state administration.

• We hope to further intensify our activities in the near future. They are bringing Belarus and Belarusians closer to the European democratic family while also permitting Europeans – like myself - to discover your beautiful country.

• I would like to thank in particular my colleague Andrey Popkov who gave me the unique opportunity to visit Mir castle which reflects so well the rich history of Belarus. Though robbed and sacked several times, its fabric was never destroyed. Today it is a UNESCO world heritage site.

• Your country has not only stunning castles and unspoilt nature, but also an impressive legal tradition which is not well known in Western Europe. In 1522, when your territory formed part of the grand duchy of Lithuania, the grand duke commissioned a uniform legal code. Sometimes described as the only comprehensive legal codex between Justinian and Napoleon, it was certainly a great achievement for the time.

• The ‘First Lithuanian Statute’ consisted of 282 articles in 13 chapters, many of them drawn from the ancient code of Kievan Rus′, the Russkaya Pravda. It was handwritten in the ruski language of White Ruthenia, and has survived in several copies. Allow me to quote the first article which states that ‘all citizens of the grand duchy of Lithuania shall be judged by the same court regardless of their rank and title’. The Statute summarised not only the privileges of the nobility, but also contained a code of administrative, family as well as criminal law.

• I'm convinced that your country will eventually join the family of Council of Europe member states.

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Belarusian News: "Hope for Belarus' membership in Council of Europe"