European Union flags waving in half in memory of the late President of the European Parliament David Sasoli in front of the European Commission building in Brussels, Belgium, 11 January 2022. REUTERS / Yves Herman
BRUSSELS, March 2 – The European Union has approved new sanctions against Belarus over its supporting role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, effectively banning about 70% of all imports from the country, the EU said on Wednesday.
The new sanctions, which have so far spared Belarusian banks, came after Minsk allowed Russian troops to move into Ukraine from its territory, as well as changing its constitution to allow Russian forces and nuclear weapons to be stationed permanently on its territory.
The measures include new economic sanctions and new lists of 22 high-ranking Belarusian servicemen involved in the aggression against Ukraine.
Economic sanctions have affected both Belarus’ exports to the EU and EU exports of machinery to Belarus.
TRADE BREDNI
The import ban significantly extends previous sanctions and will now cover nearly 70% of Belarus’ exports to the EU, which stood at 5.9 billion euros last year, an EU official said. Read more
The sectors affected are timber, timber, steel and iron, which have not been covered by previous sanctions and cumulatively account for nearly 40% of Belarus’ total exports to the EU. Other sectors affected by the EU import ban are cement, rubber and fuels.
The new sanctions also close the door and end restrictions on existing sanctions on Belarus’ exports of potash, potassium fertilizer and a key commercial product. So far, sanctions have banned only 20% of these exports, while new measures will completely ban its trade, EU officials said.
The measures will include contracts signed before their adoption, not just new ones, as in previous rounds of sanctions. The companies will have three months to close open contracts.
The risks that banned products could be exported through Russia or other third countries will be addressed by customs authorities, EU officials said.
Under the new sanctions, the EU will also stop exporting to Belarus a long list of machines that can be used for military purposes, in addition to already banned products. New sanctioned products include advanced technologies, including computers, electronics, telecommunications, sensors and lasers.
Unlike Russian creditors, Belarusian banks are not yet excluded from the international payment system SWIFT, but one EU official said it would “come”.
The new measures are in addition to those already imposed by the EU after President Alexander Lukashenko quelled protests following the August 2020 elections.
Lukashenko himself is already subject to EU sanctions.
Report by Francesco Guaraschio; additional reports by John Chalmers; edited by Tomasz Janowski, Hugh Lawson, Bernadette Baum and Sandra Mahler
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