 After Alexander Lukashenko became Belarusian leader in 1994, the relationship between Minsk and the EU deteriorated and has remained cold and distanced, as the EU has condemned the government of Belarus several times for authoritarian and anti-democratic practices, and even imposed sanctions on the country.Following a slight improvement in relations in 2008, the 2010 Belarusian presidential election (which saw a landslide victory of almost 80% for Lukashenko), led to mass demonstrations and arrests in Minsk.The EU declared that the imprisonment of opposition figures and protesters contravened human rights laws, and imposed new targeted sanctions on major Belarusian officials and businesspeople.