The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, announced on Friday, 28 August, at the end of the informal meeting of Foreign Ministers (Gymnich), that they had reached a political agreement to designate individuals responsible for the fraud during the presidential election in Belarus on 9 August and/or the subsequent repression.
Ministers had already agreed to prepare sanctions at the extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council of 14 August.
“This list will certainly include people at a high political level”, Borrell told the media, without revealing whether President Alexander Lukashenko himself will be included.
Earlier in the day, Czech minister Tomáš Petříček had said the Belarusian president should be sanctioned, but questioned the sequence. “The question is timing: is it for the first stage or for a later stage, if we see that there is no positive development in the country?” he wondered.
The list of names will now be prepared at the technical level by the EU Council for adoption “as soon as possible”, Mr Borrell announced, adding that he had received a letter from 11 Member States in favour of rapid decision-making. If the next Foreign Affairs Council is scheduled for 24 September, the measures can be adopted earlier by written procedure.
Asked about the scope of the measures, the High Representative revealed that the list, which initially contained 12 names, now included 20. The list could get even longer in the coming days.
“We want a step-by-step approach to show those who are very involved in this type of action (fraud and repression, editor's note) that if their neighbour is punished, they understand that tomorrow it may be their turn”, Borrell said.
Everything will depend on the evolution of the situation and events. “If the pressure on civil society increases, then we will have to increase the pressure on Belarus”, warned German Minister Heiko Maas.
On his arrival at the Gymnich, Luxembourger Jean Asselborn had also announced that the Member States would continue to discuss how to draw up this European list of people to be sanctioned, “so that it really corresponds to what the Belarusians tell the Europeans and so that no one goes unpunished”.
New call for dialogue
The Europeans once again called for a renewed political dialogue between the regime and its opponents.
“We call on the authorities to engage in an inclusive dialogue as a way out of the crisis”, Borrell said. In his view, a national dialogue is the only way to ensure that democracy and fundamental rights are respected in Belarus.
The EU Head of Diplomacy said that the proposal of the OSCE Chairmanship - of which Belarus is a member - to visit the country and facilitate this dialogue should be accepted by the authorities.
“The priority is to help start the political dialogue between the regime, civil society and the Belarusians”, the Czech minister stressed. “It is necessary that, in one way or another, a dialogue can take place in this country”, said Mr Asselborn. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Agathe Cherki)