Weekly analytical newsletter on Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Caucasus and Central Asia (also available in Polish as Tydzień na Wschodzie)
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European Union lifts sanctions against Uzbekistan
The EU foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on 27 October decided not to prolong its embargo on arms trade with Uzbekistan. This means that all the sanctions imposed on Tashkent in 2005 after the events in Andijan (when the Uzbek army killed a large number of demonstrators) have now been lifted, despite the fact that Uzbekistan has not met the EU's demands. The decision demonstrates the inefficacy of EU policy towards Uzbekistan, and is being perceived in Central Asia as proof of Brussels' weakness.
The sanctions imposed by the European Union in October 2005 included an embargo on the sale of arms to Uzbekistan, a ban on entry to the EU for Uzbek officials responsible for the massacre, and the suspension of the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement (PCA). They have never been particularly severe for Tashkent, but were an important symbolic and political gesture. They were to be lifted on condition that Tashkent allowed an independent investigation of the Andijan events. Even though no such investigation has taken place, the sanctions have been gradually reduced since November 2006. When presenting the reasons for the present decision, the EU foreign ministers said that Uzbekistan must be encouraged to take further measures to improve human rights, and pointed to the steps Tashkent has already taken (the prohibition of arrests without a court warrant, the ratification of conventions prohibiting child labour, and the release of a few human rights activists).
The decision to lift sanctions first and foremost exposes the European Union's helplessness in its relations with Central Asia. The fact that the move is being justified by the measures Tashkent has taken so far, even though it is in fact only pretending to be willing to co-operate, undermines the EU's credibility in the region. Contrary to the claims of those who supported the decision, the abolition of sanctions will have no major effect on the development of co-operation between Tashkent and Brussels, and may only facilitate the development of bilateral relations for those EU member states which are most engaged in Uzbekistan, and which have been co-operating with the country in spite of the EU sanctions (especially Germany). <wol>