 In October 2009, a poll conducted by the independent NISEPI institute in Belarus found that 44.1 percent of the Belarusian people would vote Yes in a referendum to join the EU, compared to 26.7 percent one year earlier.Local experts are linking the swing to more pro-EU messages in Belarusian state media, Polish daily Rzeczpospolita says.On October 30, 2015, it was announced that EU will suspend most of its sanctions against Belarus, following the freeing of the country's political prisoners in August.