Laurence Boone visiting Berlin (Jan. 13, 2023)

Laurence Boone, Minister of State for Europe, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, will be traveling to Berlin on January 13. She will be meeting with her German counterpart, Anna Lührmann, Minister of State for Europe and Climate, several days before the celebrations that are planned for the 60th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty. In their role as Secretaries-General for Franco-German cooperation, they will work on preparations for the next meeting of the Franco-German Council of Ministers, which will take place in Paris on January 22.

Laurence Boone will meet with Jorg Kukies, State Secretary for Financial Market Policy and European Policy at the Federal Ministry of Finance, to discuss, first and foremost, European industrial policy and solutions to the energy crisis. Minister of State Boone will also meet with representatives of the Federation of German Industries (Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie – BDI).

Lastly, she will speak at a seminar on Europe’s response to the energy and climate challenges that is being co-organized by the German Council on Foreign Relations (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik – DGAP) and the Atlantic Council.

Arrest of a 2020 Belarusian presidential candidate (Jan. 12, 2023)

The announcement of the arrest of Andrey Dmitriev, following the arrest of other candidates from the 2020 presidential election, is a demonstration of the Belarusian authorities’ continued anti-democracy oppression.

We condemn the continued crackdowns, which are taking an increasingly large toll on the men and women who are involved in civic life, as well as those who are demanding free elections.

The trial of the Tut.by journalists, Marina Zolotova and Lyudmila Chekina, is further proof of the ever-intensifying crackdown on free media, in violation of Belarus’ international commitments. We once again call for the release of all of the unjustly detained political prisoners.

On October 6, 2022, during her interview with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs reiterated France’s support for the Belarusian opposition’s fight for democracy and peace, more than two years after the fraudulent Belarusian election on August 9, 2020.