EU countries have in principle reached an agreement on new punitive measures against Belarus to strengthen existing sanctions against Russia, the Belgian EU presidency announced on Wednesday.
“This package will strengthen our measures in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including the fight against sanctions circumvention,” the Belgian EU presidency said in a post on X.
Since Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU has targeted Russia’s economy, institutions and officials involved in the war with multiple rounds of sanctions.
As the invasion continues, Russia has worked hard to avoid punitive measures, secure more resources for the military and keep the economy afloat.
Because Russia and Belarus are part of a customs union, the new punitive measures against Minsk are aimed at closing the EU’s “biggest loophole” in the sanctions regime, an EU diplomat said.
“Belarus should no longer serve as a route to circumvent our sanctions against Russia,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X to welcome the agreement.
Belarus, long isolated since a crackdown on demonstrators protesting fraudulent elections in 2020, has previously been sanctioned by the EU for supporting Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This includes an EU ban on the export of firearms and aviation technology to Belarus, as well as a ban on transactions with the Central Bank of Belarus.
Belgium chaired the talks as the current rotating EU presidency. An agreement was reached in Brussels between representatives of the EU countries.
The new sanctions must now be finalized by national governments in a process known as the written procedure. Further details about the new measures will then be made public.
