"Investing in education is the best way to invest in democracy. We are convinced that many of the EHU students will be the leaders of the future, and they are therefore the actual building blocks of democracy in Belarus", said Halldór Ásgrimsson at the international donors' conference 'Solidarity with Belarus' in the Polish capital on Wednesday 2 February.

There was great international support to the Belarusian people and civil society when the EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy, a number of foreign ministers, representatives from the European Council and other organisations and delegates from Europe, the USA and Canada were gathered at the international donors' conference for Belarus in Warsaw.

The EU Commission announced at the donors' conference that it would give an annual €1 million euro funding to the EHU Trust Fund until 2013. In addition, the EU will increase its support to strengthen civil society.

"As a clear demonstration of our unequivocal support to civil society in these difficult times, we will increase our funding from the currently available €4 million to €15.6 million. Our support will target primarily Belarusian NGOs, independent media and students who are subject to the regime’s repression", said Štefan Füle, European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy.

The General Secretary of the Nordic Council of Ministers held a bi-lateral meeting with Štefan Füle, at which the EU Commissioner stated that the EU considers the Nordic Council of Ministers to be an important partner in the process of democracy and in the work to strengthen civil society in Belarus.

The Nordic Council of Ministers has earmarked €631,000 for activities in Belarus in 2011, but Ásgrimsson underlined in Warsaw that the Council of Ministers is following the situation in Belarus closely, and it may be appropriate to allocate additional funding during the year.

At the end of January, the Nordic Council of Ministers donated €20,000 to the European Humanities University's Emergency Fund. This fund will help cover additional costs caused by accepting students who have been expelled from Belarusian state universities as a result of the demonstrations in December 2010.

Espen Barth Eide, State Secretary from the Norwegian Foreign Office, announced at the donors' conference that Norway will donate €750,000 to the European Humanities University Trust Fund, which is administered by the Nordic Council of Ministers, and €75,000 to the EHU's Emergency Fund. Denmark has also donated €75,000 to the Emergency Fund.

The international reactions to the use of force by the Belarusian authorities and imprisonments during the election demonstrations in December have been strong. On Monday 31 January the EU adopted to impose sanctions on a number of central Belarusians, including President Lukashenko. The USA followed in the EU's footsteps on Monday evening by introducing the same type of sanctions.

Read more about EHU here.
Read what Radio Free Europe writes about the donors' conference.

Mads Meinert Jensen
Phone +45 33 96 02 11
Email mame@norden.org

Marlene Støttrup
Phone +45 33 96 02 73
Email mast@norden.org

Kenneth Broman
Phone +45 33 96 03 30
Email kbr@norden.org