EU foreign ministers give ‘political green light’ for sectoral sanctions on Belarus

On June 21, EU foreign ministers said yes to imposing sectoral sanctions on Belarus, Rikard Jozwiak, a Brussels-based reporter of RFE/RL, says on Twitter.

“EU foreign ministers have now also given political green light for sectoral sanctions on Belarus, hitting parts of its potash, oil and banking sectors,” he stressed.

According to the journalist, they will be endorsed at the meeting of the European council and then officially approved a few days later.

Today, the foreign ministers of EU member countries have approved the fourth package of personal sanctions against the Belarusian regime. The bloc has frozen assets and imposed visa bans on 78 Belarusian officials (including members of Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s family) and 8 companies.

Earlier, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell stated that economic sanctions against Belarus would be considered at the EU summit on June 24-25 and approved in the wake of the event. The restrictions are to target Belarus’ exports to the European Union member countries, the top official noted, but he also added that it was premature to name any specific areas.

In a recent interview with Die Welt , German Foreign Minister Haiko Maas said that the sactions previously slapped on certain Belarusian companies and government officials were no longer sufficient. In his opinion, restrictive measures should be extended to entire branches of the Belarusian economy, e.g. potash industry and energy sector.

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