The Council of the EU adopted by written procedure, on Thursday 24 June, economic sanctions against the Belarusian regime. These measures cover petroleum products, tobacco, potassium chloride (‘potash’), the financial sector and dual-use goods.
The purchase, import or transfer of petroleum products and potash-based products from Belarus is now prohibited, with some exceptions. It is also prohibited to provide, directly or indirectly, technical assistance, brokering services, financing or financial assistance, including financial derivatives and insurance and reinsurance products relating to such oil products.
The same applies to the sale, supply, transfer or export, directly or indirectly, of goods for the production or manufacturing of tobacco products.
Access to EU capital markets is restricted, and providing insurance and re-insurance to the Belarusian government and Belarusian public bodies and agencies is prohibited. The European Investment Bank will stop any disbursement or payment under any existing agreements in relation to projects in the public sector, and any existing Technical Assistance Service Contracts.
Member States will also be required to take actions to limit the involvement in Belarus of multilateral development banks of which they are members.
It is also prohibited to directly or indirectly sell, supply, transfer or export to anyone in Belarus any equipment, technology or software intended primarily for use in the monitoring or interception of the internet and of telephone communications. The same applies to dual-use goods and technologies for military use supplied to specific persons, entities or bodies in Belarus.
These measures were adopted in response to the escalation of serious human rights violations and the violent repression of civil society, democratic opposition and journalists as well as to the forced landing of the Ryanair flight on 23 May and the related detention of journalist Roman Protassevich and Sofia Sapega.
On his arrival at the summit, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gitanas Nausėda welcomed the adoption of the sanctions, saying they were “timely” and “appropriate”. “This will help us to have an impact on the behaviour of the Belarusian regime”, he added, describing the regime as “cynical and brutal”.
At a hearing in the European Parliament on the same day, Amanda Sloat, special assistant to US President Joe Biden and senior director for Europe at the US National Security Council, explained that her country was still considering additional sanctions against the regime. “Hopefully, we will be able to have similar actions (to European economic sanctions) in the coming weeks”, she added. The targeted sanctions, adopted by the EU on Monday 21 June (see EUROPE 12745/1,) were the outcome of close cooperation with the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, which have adopted similar measures.
See the EU decision: https://bit.ly/2U2nn1r (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)