Lithuania condemns Belarus for branding EU-backed programmes extremist

Lithuania has strongly condemned Belarus’s decision to designate the websites and related social media accounts of several European Union-backed programmes as “extremist information resources,” LRT reported, citing the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.

The designation applies to the Central Project Management Agency, a Lithuanian public institution that administers national, EU and international programmes, as well as the EU4Belarus-SALT, EU4Belarus-SALT II, EU4Belarus-SALT III and Education for Belarusians programmes.

The ministry called the move politically motivated and unfounded, saying it was intended to restrict access to information about EU and member state initiatives supporting civil society, education, mobility and other forms of assistance in Belarus.

According to the ministry, the programmes support Belarusian civil society representatives, students, teachers, researchers and independent educational initiatives. They are implemented in accordance with EU values and the principles of international law.

The ministry said Belarus’s decision was also an attempt to discredit legitimate international cooperation. Lithuania, together with the EU, would continue supporting Belarus’s democratic forces, civil society, students, the academic community and civic initiatives, it said.

Lithuania stressed that the decision would have no legal effect on its territory. It called on Belarus to withdraw the designation immediately and said it reserved the right to take political and diplomatic countermeasures in coordination with EU institutions and member states.