PERSPECTIVE The European Union and Belarus Time for a New Policy FELIX HETT AND STEPHAN MEUSER February 2016 „ „ Belarus today is neither looking to the West nor seeking accession to the European Union. This sets it clearly apart from Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. If the European Union is to avoid permanent self-delusion and disappointment it must now find a change of course. „ „ For structural, historical/cultural and geopolitical reasons, Belarus has very little lee­way for a Western alignment. And Belarusian society shows scant enthusiasm for throwing itself into»European experiments« of uncertain outcome. Nonetheless, the latest developments in the region and Belarusian foreign policy’s traditional focus on the economic offer starting points for the EU to pursue a policy of incrementalism. „ „ Instead of pursuing externally-driven regime change – a venture doomed from the outset – it would make sense to build a stable infrastructure for dialogue with Be­larus across the broadest range of issues. These could include selected areas of the economy, rule of law, social welfare, education policy, and the active inclusion of Belarus in EU negotiations with the Eurasian Economic Union. The European Union should also include civil society actors in the dialogue.