Several hundred Belarusians might be included in EU’s next package of sanctions

European Union member states are going to agree upon the sixth package of sanctions against the Belarusian regime. Several hundred persons might be reportedly blacklisted; they will be banned from entering the EU, their assets in Europe will be frozen.

As of today, there are more than 170 people, several dozen companies and seven sectors of the Belarusian economy on the sanctions list, Polish Radio reports.

“The next round is needed because the hybrid war is escalating,” Poland’s Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said.

Another package is expected to be one more response to the major human rights violations being committed by the Belarusian authorities as well as their fostering the migration crisis on the EU borders.

On December 2, the Council of the European Union decided to impose the fifth package of restrictive measures on additional 17 individuals and 11 entities in view of the situation in Belarus.

The decision targets prominent members of the judicial branch, including the Supreme Court, and the State Control Committee, as well as propaganda outlets (e.g. notorious anchorman Marat Markau) and ministries (e.g. MFA spokesman Anatol Hlaz) contributing to continuing repression of civil society, democratic opposition, independent media outlets and journalists.

The list also includes high-ranking political officials of the Lukashenka regime, as well as companies (such as Belavia Airlines), tour operators (Tsentrkurort, Oskartour) and hotels (Minsk, Planeta) that helped incite and organise illegal border crossings through Belarus to the EU, and in this way participated in the instrumentalisation of migration for political purposes.

In late December, eight European countries, including Switzerland and Norway, aligned with the recent sanctions slapped on the Lukashenka regime.

belsat.eu