EU, Belarus sign deal to open European Commission's office in Minsk (pictures)

The government of Belarus and the European Commission on March 7 in Brussels signed an agreement on the opening, the priviliges and the immunity of the European Commission's Representative Office in Minsk. The document was signed by Belarus deputy foreign minister Valery Varanetski and EU Commissioner for External Relations and Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

The European Commission had applied for the opening of its representative office in Minsk in 2005. On October 19, 2007 the Belarusian president approved a draft agreement. The sides preliminary approved the deal on December 5 in Minsk.

The agreement is based on the 1961 Vienna Diplomatic Relations Convention.

The document came into force since the moment of signing. Janis Aizsalnieks, the head of the TACIS Office in Minsk told Belapan that Brussels was yet to notify formally who would head the mission. Jean-Erich Holzapfel, the Belarus coordinator at European Commission's office in Ukraine, is likely to be appointed the head of the Belarus office. The head of the representative office will have an ambassador status just like the head of the OSCE Office in Minsk, according to Belapan.