On Saturday 29 June, the Council of the European Union formally adopted new European sanctions against the regime led by Alexander Lukashenko (see EUROPE 13440/9) to prevent Belarus from circumventing the European Union’s sanctions against Russia, as the two countries belong to the same customs union.
The EU Council is extending the ban on the export of dual-use/advanced goods and technologies and introducing new restrictions on the export of goods that could help strengthen Belarusian industrial capacity. Additional restrictions have also been introduced on exports to Belarus of maritime navigation goods and technologies and luxury goods.
‘No-Belarus’ clause. EU exporters will have to include a ‘no-Belarus’ clause in their future contracts, contractually prohibiting the re-export of their goods to Belarus or the re-export for use in Belarus of sensitive goods and technology, military equipment, firearms and ammunition.
Transit through the territory of Belarus is also prohibited for dual-use goods and technologies as well as sensitive goods and technologies likely to contribute to the military and technological development of Belarus or to the development of its defence and security sector.
To counter the re-export of goods essential to the development of Russian military systems or to the manufacture of weapons found in Ukraine, it has been decided that EU operators selling these types of military goods to third countries will have to implement due diligence mechanisms capable of identifying and assessing the risks of re-export to Russia, and mitigating them.
It will also be forbidden to import, purchase or transfer directly or indirectly, in particular, Belarusian gold and diamonds, as well as helium, coal and mineral products, including crude oil. This last measure will be supplemented by a new ban on exports of goods and technologies suitable for oil refining and natural gas liquefaction.
The Council is extending the ban on the transport of goods by road on EU territory by trailers and semi-trailers registered in Belarus, including when they are transported by lorries registered outside Belarus.
To minimise the risk of circumvention, the ban on road transport and transit has been extended to EU operators who are 25% or more owned by a Belarusian natural or legal person.
According to a European source consulted on Monday 1 July, the agreement on the 14th package of sanctions targeting Russia (see EUROPE 13438/3) was possible by separating it from the provisions targeting Belarus. After that, the opportunity to make progress on the Belarus sanctions package to be presented in 2023 suddenly materialised, the source added, believing that the alignment between EU sanctions against Belarus and Russia is “considerable, albeit imperfect”.
Link to the proceedings published on 30 June: https://aeur.eu/f/cwg (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur with Mathieu Bion)