Backlash attempt: Belarus to suspend participation in EaP, readmission agreement with EU
On Monday, Dirk Schuebel, Head of the EU Delegation to Belarus, has been called to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry and informed about the steps the country is going to take in retaliation to the sanctions imposed on the Lukashenka regime.
According to the ministry, Belarus’ permanent representative in the European Union will be recalled to Minsk for consultations. In turn, Dirk Schuebel has been asked to go back to Brussels and ‘have consultations with his superiors’ as well.
In today’s statement, MFA says that Belarus has suspended its participation in the Eastern Partnership initiative; it is also launching the procedure to suspend the readmission agreement with the EU.
“We cannot fulfill our obligations under this agreement in the conditions of the sanctions and restrictions imposed by the European Union. It is with deep regret that we inform that the forced suspension of the agreement will have a negative impact on cooperation with the European Union in the fight against illegal migration and organised crime,” state-run news agency BelTA quotes the ministry.
As reported earlier, the neighbouring Lithuania accuses Minsk of Belarusian border guards’ facilitating illegal migration to Europe. Presidential adviser Asta Skaisgirite and Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite previously said that Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s regime was thus waging a hybrid war on Lithuania and exerting pressure on the country. In turn, when making a speech in Brest last week, Lukashenka threatened that he would not stop illegal migration and the smuggling of drugs and nuclear materials to the West. A total of 555 illegal migrants from Belarus tried to enter Lithuania over the past six months, which is almost seven times more than in 2020, the Lithuanian State Security Bureau reported on June, 27. On the same day, the Lithuanian side said that a group of 30 employees of the EU Agency for External Border Security (Frontex) would be sent to strengthen the protection of the Lithuanian border with Belarus from illegal migrants.
In addition, the Belarusian authorities set to deny entry to EU member countries representatives who ‘contributed to the introduction of the restrictive measures’ and continue ‘working out other response measures, including economic ones’.
On June 24, the European Union imposed targeted sanctions on a number of pillars of the Belarusian economy in order to respond, among other things, to the forced landing of the Ryanair flight in Minsk and the related detention of Raman Pratasevich and Sofiya Sapega. Three days earlier, the EU approved the fourth package of personal sanctions against the Belarusian regime. The bloc froze assets and imposed visa bans on 78 Belarusian officials (including members of Lukashenka’s family) and 8 companies; a total of 166 persons and 15 entities are currently subject to restrictive measures.
belsat.eu
