ABSTRACT
Hopes for the development of democracy, an open society and a working market economy in Belarus, which were entertained in Western Europe in 1991, have been disappointed over the last few years. Initial engagement with the European Union (EU) has fallen away under the presidency of Aliaksandr Lukashenka and Belarus has focused its foreign policy on reintegration with Russia. The level of co-operation between Belarus and the EU is now minimal and dialogue is difficult.
