What changed between the resolution motion and the resolution motion joint

Removed:X. whereas any form of dialogue or contact with representatives of the Lukashenka regime is systematically exploited for propaganda purposes and falsely presented as a sign of international recognition;

Added:W. whereas Belarusian children are being groomed for military service under the guise of ‘patriotic education’, with thousands taking part in military-patriotic club activities; whereas the rhetoric of ‘patriotic education’ conceals the militarisation of minors, their training in the use of combat weapons and their indoctrination with pro-Russian narratives;

Removed:1. Rejects the legitimacy of the presidential elections in Belarus in 2020 and in 2025, which it regards as a sham designed to consolidate Lukashenka’s dictatorship, and refuses to acknowledge Lukashenka’s legitimacy as president; confirms that widespread evidence and numerous testimonies indicate that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was the legitimate winner of the 2020 presidential election in Belarus; whereas the Lukashenka regime unlawfully seized and retained power by refusing to acknowledge her victory;

Added:X. whereas the Belarusian regime has further aligned itself with the Russian Federation; whereas from 12 to 16 September 2025, Belarus held the Zapad 2025 joint strategic military exercise with Russia, the first such exercise since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022; whereas on 12 September 2025, Poland was forced to temporarily close all border crossings with Belarus, citing concerns over a possible escalation;

Removed:2. Reaffirms that the EU must maintain and, where necessary, strengthen its restrictive measures, including targeted sanctions and political pressure, until the Lukashenka regime fulfils its international human rights obligations, halts all forms of repression, ceases complicity in the Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its hybrid warfare against neighbouring states, and supports effective international accountability mechanisms for war crimes and crimes against humanity; strongly condemns the Lukashenka regime’s weaponisation of migration as a tool to destabilise neighbouring EU Member States, as this is a deliberate tactic of orchestrating irregular migration flows that violates human rights, exploits vulnerable individuals for political purposes and undermines regional stability;

Added:Y. whereas Belarus assists attempts by Russia and other actors to destabilise the EU and undermine European aspirations among the EU’s neighbours; whereas Belarusian and Russian instructors in Serbia trained over 150 pro-Russian activists from the Republic of Moldova to destabilise Moldova after the recent elections there; whereas Moldova has refused entry to 195 Russian and Belarusian athletes and activists, including Dzmitry Shakuta, one of the suspects in the murder of Belarusian democratic activist Raman Bandarenka;

Removed:3. Demands an immediate end to the ongoing campaign of repression, intimidation, and persecution against Belarusian citizens exercising their fundamental rights, and calls for the urgent and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Belarus, without their forced deportation from the country; commends the efforts of the international community in facilitating previous releases of political prisoners in Belarus; demands the full cessation of all forms of political persecution, torture and arbitrary detention, and insists that no individual should be used as a bargaining chip in political negotiations;

Added:Z. whereas Belarus continues to instrumentalise migration at its borders with Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, deliberately gathering migrants and forcing them to move towards the EU’s external borders; whereas Belarus is experiencing an acute labour shortage as a result of repression, arbitrary detention and forced emigration; whereas the Lukashenka regime has concluded agreements with non-EU countries with the alleged aim of attracting labour; whereas these arrangements exacerbate the risk of migration being instrumentalised against the EU; whereas following Lukashenka’s return from Moscow in September 2025, the Belarusian regime stepped up its hybrid actions regarding the instrumentalisation of migration to destabilise the EU; whereas the regime has also facilitated or tolerated incursions of drones and weather balloons from Belarusian territory into neighbouring EU Member States, endangering aviation and forcing the closure of airports, thereby posing a threat to the security and economies of these countries;

Removed:4. Welcomes Lithuania’s decision to refer the situation in Belarus to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) under case number ICC-01/24, in order to initiate an investigation into crimes against humanity committed by the authoritarian Lukashenka regime, and calls on other democratic states to support this initiative and to contribute in every possible way, including through the exercise of universal jurisdiction, to ensuring accountability for those responsible for systematic repression, torture and politically motivated killings;

Added:AA. whereas the intelligence services of Czechia, Hungary and Romania dismantled a Belarusian spy network operating under diplomatic cover, which allowed it unrestricted movement within the EU;

Removed:5. Condemns the unjust sentence handed down to Andrzej Poczobut by a court controlled by Lukashenka’s regime; condemns the ill treatment of Andrzej Poczobut and calls for his immediate and unconditional release;

Added:AB. whereas the Astravets nuclear power plant, located on the border between Belarus and Lithuania, has been plagued by problems, and Belarus is now planning to build a nuclear waste dump near the Lithuanian border; whereas the Lukashenka regime also plans to build a second nuclear power plant in the east of the country to supply electricity, including to Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine;

Removed:6. Expresses grave concern about the disappearance of Mikalai Statkevich and demands that the authorities disclose his whereabouts and guarantee his safety;

Added:AC. whereas the EU has mobilised EUR 170 million since 2020 to support Belarusian civil society, independent media and victims of repression, and has imposed targeted sanctions on Belarus in response to the 2020 fraudulent elections, human rights violations, and Belarus’s complicity in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, including trade restrictions and sanctions on 310 individuals, among them Lukashenka, and 46 entities;

Removed:7. Supports Poland’s demands for the handover of the murderers of Mateusz Sitek, a Polish soldier killed on Poland’s border with Belarus in May 2024;

Added:AD. whereas the announced cuts in US support for Belarusian independent media and non-governmental organisations could lead to some organisations losing all their funding; whereas European partners have only partly filled the gap;

Removed:8. Notes with profound alarm that the scale of persecution and repression under the Lukashenka regime has reached levels comparable to, and in some respects exceeding, those of the Stalinist period, resulting in the effective eradication of freedom of expression and thought; recalls that, precisely because of this extreme assault on basic liberties, the Union must urgently and substantially step up support for independent Belarusian media; stands in full solidarity with persecuted journalists, bloggers and private individuals imprisoned for exercising their right to free speech, and remembers in particular Katsyaryna Andreeva, the courageous Belsat journalist, who – together with her husband – has been detained and targeted by the regime;

Added:1. Reaffirms its strong condemnation of the repression in Belarus and its firm solidarity with all those who continue to fight the Lukashenka regime’s massive and systematic repression in the country; reiterates its demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and arbitrarily detained persons, along with compensation and the restoration of their rights; condemns the instrumentalisation of the judiciary, prosecutors and law enforcement agencies to commit human rights violations and crimes against humanity;

Removed:9. Condemns the practice of forced deportations of released prisoners and stresses that Belarusians must have the right to remain and live safely in their own country; rejects the false narrative promoted by regime lobbyists that ‘repressions are ending’ or that ‘the regime is ready for dialogue,’ and considers such messages to be part of a disinformation campaign designed to weaken European unity;

Added:2. Expresses grave concern about the situation of political prisoners, including Ales Bialiatski, Maria Kalesnikava, Viktar Babaryka, Andrzej Poczobut, Mikalai Statkevich, Valiantsin Stefanovic, Maksim Znak, Marfa Rabkova, Uladzimir Labkovich, Anastasiya Loika, Iryna Takarchuk, Yana Pinchuk, Mikalai Bankou, Andrei Navitski, Henrykh Akalatovich, Uladzimir Kniha, Pavel Seviarynets and others, many of whom face severe health issues without access to proper medical care and are enduring isolation, ill-treatment and torture; reiterates its calls on the Belarusian authorities to respect detainees’ rights, provide medical care, and grant access to lawyers, families and international organisations;

Removed:10. Warns that any political engagement with the Lukashenka regime serves only to legitimise its rule and to strengthen its propaganda machine;

Added:3. Reiterates its call for the EU and the Member States to support political prisoners and their families, including by demanding proof of political prisoners’ whereabouts, requesting their release, simplifying the procedures for obtaining visas and identity documents, and providing rehabilitation and other support; calls on the EU Delegation and the Member State embassies in Belarus to continue observing and monitoring the trials of political prisoners wherever possible; calls for immediate and independent investigations into all deaths in custody of political prisoners; reiterates its call on the Commission and the Member States to simplify the procedures for obtaining visas and residence permits for those fleeing Belarus for political reasons, prepare common rules and procedures to deal with cases of statelessness, as well as to provide support for those Belarusians residing in the EU whose identity documents are about to expire and who have no means of renewing them without returning to Belarus;

Removed:11. Condemns the persecution of the Polish minority in Belarus and its representatives, including decisions aiming to shut down Polish schools and eliminate education in the Polish language, as well as the deliberate destruction of Polish cemeteries and heritage;

Added:4. Reiterates that it does not recognise Aliaksandr Lukashenka as the legitimate president of Belarus and reaffirms its support for the Belarusian democratic forces led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and for the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian people; calls for the EU and its Member States to work with non-EU countries to strengthen the policy of the non-recognition of Lukashenka as Belarus’s president; stresses the importance of sustained EU engagement with Belarusian democratic actors, ensuring that their efforts have political, financial and security support;

Removed:12. Commends the continuing close cooperation between the EU institutions and Member States and the Belarusian democratic forces, civil society, and international partners in support of a peaceful transition based on democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights;

Added:5. Reiterates its previous calls for new, free and fair elections to be organised under international observation by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); stresses that any election held in the current atmosphere of fear and repression and in breach of all international standards cannot be considered free and fair;

Removed:13. Calls for enhanced assistance to strengthen the capacity-building of key democratic structures, including the Office of the Elected President Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the United Transitional Cabinet, the Coordination Council, and all democratic political parties, in order to unlock their potential as credible alternative institutions capable of assuming leadership during a future transition;

Added:6. Warns against Lukashenka’s instrumentalisation of political prisoners to extort concessions from the West; notes the release of dozens of political prisoners and encourages the EU, the United States and other like-minded partners to continue working for the effective release of all political prisoners in Belarus while further increasing pressure on the regime; reiterates that each time prisoners have been released, others have subsequently been taken into captivity; expresses serious concern over the lifting of the US sanctions imposed on the Belarusian airline Belavia after the 2021 Ryanair flight hijacking, noting that Belavia is complicit in the instrumentalisation of migration;

Removed:14. Urges the Member States of the EU to take the necessary measures to ensure the protection of members of the Belarusian democratic institutional structures and to enhance their international representation and legitimacy – namely, the Elected President Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her Office, the United Transitional Cabinet, and the Coordination Council – by granting them appropriate legal status and recognition;

Added:7. Commends the resilience of Belarusian civil society and the Belarusian democratic forces; reiterates its solidarity with the people of Belarus and its support for their legitimate aspirations for a democratic and European future, and remains committed to working with Belarusian democratic forces, civil society and independent media for the benefit of the people of Belarus;

Removed:15. Condemns the misuse of the re-registration process to suppress independent religious life in Belarus and the ongoing persecution of clergy and believers; calls on the Belarusian authorities to immediately halt the dissolution of communities that have not been re-registered, to ensure transparent criteria for registration, and to reinstate the legal status of all religious organisations unjustly denied recognition;

Added:8. Calls for the EU and its Member States to continue to support Belarusian democratic forces, civil society, students, researchers, journalists, trade union leaders, exiled professionals and others, including by providing them with visas, scholarships, grants, networking opportunities and measures to ensure their safety; calls for independent media to be guaranteed systemic and multi-year assistance, including funding, and for the capacity-building of key democratic structures to be strengthened, including the Office of the Elected President Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the United Transitional Cabinet, the Coordination Council, and democratic political parties;

Removed:16. Encourages the Commission and the Member States to continue consultative work with the Belarusian democratic forces in preparing the conceptual, legislative, and human rights framework for Belarus’s future transition to democracy in line with European Union standards;

Added:9. Calls for the EU and international organisations to formalise the representation of the Belarusian democratic forces in international forums such as the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly; commends the active participation of the United Transitional Cabinet and Coordination Council within the EuroNest Parliamentary Assembly, including through the dedicated Working Group on Belarus;

Removed:17. Reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the people of Belarus and their rightful aspirations for a democratic and European future;

Added:10. Calls on the Member States to urgently counter and put an end to the alarming level of transnational repression conducted by the Lukashenka regime, including on the territory of the EU; expresses concern about the abuse of Interpol arrest warrants by the Lukashenka regime to bring about the extradition of political opponents from non-EU countries; calls, therefore, on the countries concerned not to extradite Belarusian citizens who have fled the regime and who may face persecution on their return to Belarus; calls for the EU and its Member States to raise the abuse of international arrest warrants with Interpol; stresses the importance of protecting exiled Belarusians from persecution by the Lukashenka regime and of ensuring that they can access legal residence and employment in the EU;

Removed:18. Calls on European Union institutions and international organisations to formalise the representation of the Belarusian democratic opposition in the relevant multilateral forums such as the EuroNest Parliamentary Assembly, PACE, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization;

Added:11. Demands that the Belarusian authorities cease the criminalisation of journalism, end the harassment of journalists both within Belarus and in exile, and halt intimidation of their family members; strongly condemns the authorities of Belarus for blocking independent media, restricting access to the internet, and arresting journalists and bloggers, which contravenes international standards of press freedom; call for the release of all jailed journalists, including Katsyaryna Andreeva;

Removed:19. Prioritises support for Belarusian diaspora communities as key hubs of resilience and advocacy, in the sense and spirit of the Luxembourg Solutions initiated under PACE, including creating better opportunities for the mobility of Belarusians through improved visa procedures, safe border crossings, and the regularisation of their legal status in European Union countries;

Added:12. Condemns the persecution of the Polish minority group in Belarus and its representatives, including decisions aiming to shut down Polish schools and eliminate education in the Polish language, as well as the deliberate destruction of Polish cemeteries and heritage;

Removed:20. Requests increased funding for education, cultural identity projects and advocacy initiatives that preserve the Belarusian language, culture and national identity in the face of repression, while countering the Kremlin’s propaganda and disinformation abroad; condemns the forced Russification of Belarusian culture and history, including the systematic exclusion of the Belarusian language from schools and public spaces; calls on the EU to support independent Belarusian cultural organisations such as theatres, choirs, schools, folk groups and artists; commits to increasing its communication in Belarusian, notably by translating its reports and resolutions on Belarus and Eastern Partnership policies into the language, and calls on the other EU institutions to follow suit;

Added:13. Deplores the fact that the repressive measures in Belarus have expanded to include attacks on religious freedom through the adoption of the law on freedom of conscience and religious organisations, which grossly violates the fundamental right to freedom of religion, conscience and belief; urges the Lukashenka regime to immediately halt the persecution of religious communities and churches;

Removed:21. Considers that a comprehensive strategy towards Belarus that simultaneously empowers the country’s democratic transition and constrains the Russian Federation’s military use of its territory is an integral part of the European Union’s long-term values-based security strategy, which is essential to preserving the EU’s credibility as a defender of a democratic Belarus;

Added:14. Urges Belarus to commute all death sentences, impose a moratorium on capital punishment and move towards its permanent abolition;

Removed:22. Strongly condemns Belarus’s involvement in Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine; condemns the renewed deployment of Russian armed forces in Belarus, and the belligerent and threat-based rhetoric of Belarusian officials towards Ukraine; recognises that Lukashenka and his regime have become accomplices in the crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine, including the crime of aggression; expresses full support for the investigations launched by Ukrainian prosecutors into the role of Belarus in the forced deportations of Ukrainian civilians and children, and considers that the actions of Lukashenka and his regime – including their participation in the deportation or forcible transfer of population – may constitute crimes against humanity and possibly genocide under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC); considers Lukashenka personally responsible for these war crimes alongside Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, and therefore calls on the ICC to consider issuing a similar international arrest warrant for Lukashenka; calls on the Council to expand the list of individuals targeted by EU sanctions to include those involved in the forced deportations of Ukrainian children to Belarus; notes that Lukashenka and his associates share responsibility for the war crimes committed in Ukraine and must be held accountable before both an international tribunal and the ICC;

Added:15. Reiterates its call for the EU and its Member States to continue investigating human rights abuses and crimes against humanity in Belarus and to support measures to hold those responsible to account, including through extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction; calls for the EU and its Member States to support the Lithuanian Government’s referral of the situation in Belarus to the International Criminal Court in connection with the perpetration of transnational crimes against humanity; encourages the Member States to join the proceedings initiated by Lithuania before the International Court of Justice concerning Belarus’s instrumentalisation of migration; welcomes the unity and solidarity shown by the EU and the Member States in addressing the multifaceted threats that the regime of Aliaksandr Lukashenka poses to the EU;

Removed:23. Expresses concern over the alleged use of the forced labour of inmates in Belarusian penal colonies by suppliers to major EU-based companies; calls on all EU-based companies to exercise particular diligence and terminate their relations with any Belarusian suppliers that use forced labour in their supply chains, suppress the civil and political rights of their employees or openly support the violent regime; calls on the Council to impose sanctions on any Belarusian or international companies operating in Belarus that use forced labour in their supply chains, suppress the civil and political rights of their employees or openly support the violent regime; urges the Lukashenka regime to end its practice of imposing forced labour in penal colonies;

Added:16. Welcomes the continued documentation of human rights violations by Belarusian non-governmental organisations such as Viasna; commends the work of Belarusian independent media in promoting freedom of expression, and emphasises the need to preserve their records for future judicial proceedings; calls for the EU and its Member States to provide concrete support for civil society organisations and human rights defenders working to collect and preserve evidence of the Lukashenka regime’s abuses and crimes against humanity, and to assist in transmitting such documentation to the competent international bodies, including the International Criminal Court;

Removed:24. Calls on the EU institutions to strengthen the transparency and oversight of EU funds allocated to support independent Belarusian media, and to ensure that these resources are directed towards genuine needs aimed at improving their quality, resilience, and capacity to function sustainably, without unnecessary intermediaries; calls for particular support to be provided to credible, long-established Belarusian media outlets currently operating from European territory that have not yet benefited from EU funding, despite their proven contribution to democratic values and freedom of speech, such as Radio Racyja and Charter97, which serve as the primary refuge for journalists deprived of their jobs and forced into exile, and from which Belarusians expect independent and reliable information about the situation in their country, but which currently face an extremely difficult financial situation; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that such assistance is systemic, sustained and multi-year, and to create dedicated mechanisms enabling direct, rapid and accountable support to trusted Belarusian media actors;

Added:17. Calls for the Member States to ensure that efforts to document and ensure accountability for international crimes committed by the Lukashenka regime are continued at UN level with a strengthened examination by the OHCHR of the human rights situation in Belarus, by providing full support to the UN Group of Independent Experts on the Human Rights Situation in Belarus, chaired by Karinna Moskalenko, and by preserving the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Belarus, Nils Muižnieks, for continued scrutiny of ongoing human rights violations; stresses the need for continued cooperation between the EU, the UN, and international human rights mechanisms to ensure accountability for crimes committed by the Belarusian authorities; calls on the UN Human Rights Council to extend the mandates of both the Special Rapporteur and the Group of Independent Experts beyond 2026, in order to guarantee the uninterrupted continuation of their vital work in monitoring, reporting, and supporting future accountability processes for human rights abuses in Belarus;

Removed:25. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the authorities of the Republic of Belarus.

Added:18. Condemns in the strongest possible terms the Lukashenka regime’s involvement in Russia’s unjustified, illegal and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine; considers that the Lukashenka regime has become an accomplice in the crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine; considers the Belarusian regime to be complicit in the Russian militarisation of Ukrainian children; calls on the International Criminal Court to launch an investigation into the displacement, indoctrination, and militarisation of Ukrainian children by the Belarusian regime; calls for the EU, its Member States and other relevant bodies to support, in any way necessary, Bring Kids Back UA, the initiative of the President of Ukraine to secure the return of Ukrainian children to Ukraine;

Added:19. Expresses deep concern over Russia’s growing influence in Belarus, which threatens its existence as a sovereign state; denounces the militarisation of Belarusian territory by Russia, including though military exercises such as Zapad, and warns that the deployment of nuclear-capable systems undermines Europe’s security; requests increased funding for educational, cultural and identity-preserving projects that safeguard the Belarusian language, culture and national identity while combating the falsification of Belarusian history by the Lukashenka regime, and the Kremlin and its proxies;

Added:20. Expresses deep concern over the growing repression of the LGBTQ+ community, as Belarus follows the example of Russia and Georgia to suppress any visibility of the LGBTQ+ community in society;

Added:21. Urges the EU and international partners to strengthen sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for the evasion of sanctions, the undermining of democracy and the rule of law, repression, human rights violations and crimes against humanity and for Belarus’s participation in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, while also closing sanctions loopholes; calls for the EU to impose sanctions on Belarusian entities and individuals responsible for the forced labour of political prisoners and on goods produced through such forced labour; calls on all EU-based companies to exercise particular diligence and terminate their relations with any Belarusian suppliers that use forced labour in their supply chains, suppress the civil and political rights of their employees or openly support the Lukashenka regime; reiterates its calls on EU and Western companies to cease their activities in Belarus;

Added:22. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to impose targeted sanctions on intermediaries and enablers who knowingly evade Belarusian fertiliser sanctions, and on any persons or entities leasing production facilities, re-branding, re-packaging or falsifying the origin of Belarusian fertiliser, providing financing or insurance, or otherwise facilitating transit; urges stronger enforcement and enhanced cross-border information-sharing; notes the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project’s findings on EU routing and Lukashenka’s recent push to expand the use of crypto-assets and tokenisation as a sanctions workaround;

Added:23. Calls for the EU and its Member States to launch thorough investigations into, and dismantle, Belarusian and Russian spy networks in the EU and the candidate countries, and stresses, once more, the need to impose restrictions on Russian and Belarusian diplomats in the Schengen area;

Added:24. Calls for the EU and the individual Member States to further formalise the representation of Belarusian democratic forces within the EU by supporting them in opening offices across European capitals and allowing them to issue provisional documents to exiled Belarusian citizens;

Added:25. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Union / High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the relevant EU institutions, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the representatives of Belarusian democratic forces and the Belarusian de facto authorities.