Brussels, 12/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European finance ministers, meeting in Council on Monday 15 February, may decide to lift the sanctions against 170 individuals, including the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, and three Belarusian entities, EUROPE learned from a number of European diplomatic sources on Friday 12 February.
These sanctions - visa ban and freezing of assets -related to violations of human rights are in place until 29 February, but at the same time have been suspended. The decision to extend the sanctions whilst suspending them was made on 29 October of last year.
The sanctions against four individuals related to disappearances of political opponents in the late 1990s, will, however, be extended for one year and the embargo on weapons will be kept in place. According to a European source, Hungary hoped to make changes to the weapons embargo.
At their Council meeting, the ministers are also expected to adopt broader conclusions on Belarus (see other article). These are expected to reiterate the EU's concerns regarding human rights. “Respect for the fundamental rights is far from satisfactory; in parallel to the resumption of relations, there is an exercise to monitor the situation on the ground”, one diplomatic source explained. However, the ministers are also expected to acknowledge the measures taken by the country over the last two years to improve EU-Belarus relations and stress that there is an opportunity to develop a more positive agenda. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)