EU parliament calls for new targeted and sectoral sanctions against Belarus

<p> MINSK, Jun 10 - PrimePress. The European Parliament on June 10 adopted a resolution calling for the EU to impose new individual and sectoral sanctions against Belarus, TASS reports. </p> <p>   </p> <p> “The EU sanctions list must be expanded. The resolution urges the Council to sanction the Belarusian individuals and entities involved in the forced landing and the abductions as soon as possible,” the document says. </p> <p>   </p> <p> In particular, the MEPs consider it necessary to include in the list of those responsible for the forced landing of the Ryanair flight and for the arrest of the co-founder of the extremist telegram channel NEXTA Roman Protasevich and his Russian companion Sofia Sapega. </p> <p>   </p> <p> “EU member states must also proceed with utmost urgency with the next package of sanctions against those who took part in or were complicit in electoral fraud last year and the subsequent human rights violations in Belarus,” says the text. </p> <p>   </p> <p> “Prosecutors, judges and law-enforcement employees who play a role in the repression should be on the sanctions list, as should agents working on disinformation, media, propaganda and officials supporting the regime, such as Marat Markov, who interviewed Raman Pratasevich on the state channel ONT on 2 June,” the document says. </p> <p>   </p> <p> MEPs call for swift economic and sectoral measures targeting key Belarusian industries, in particular the crude oil and oil products, potash, steel, and wood-processing sectors. </p> <p>   </p> <p> Financial support to the regime must be strictly denied, any new credit lines to the country’s banks refused, and investments in infrastructure or economic undertakings must be halted. European financial institutions must be prevented from acquiring bonds or any other financial instrument issued by the Belarusian government and affiliated public institutions. MEPs also suggested considering temporarily disconnecting Belarus from the SWIFT financial messaging system. </p> <p>   </p> <p> MEPs urged suspension of cooperation of European companies, in particular Siemens (Siemens), with Belarusian partners, as well as technology transfer. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The resolution also states that Belarus should be suspended from international sports bodies and international events, including European and world championships and the Olympic Games in Tokyo. MEPs further urge the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to remove broadcasting rights for the upcoming EURO 2020 football tournament from Belarusian state television TVR and assign them to the independent Belsat TV free of charge. </p> <p>   </p> <p> MEPs recalled the position of the European Parliament not to recognize the victory of Alexander Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election, and called for an international conference under the slogan "The Future of Democratic Belarus" to discuss Belarus crisis settlement and the democratic transformation of the country. They expect representatives of the EU and G7 countries and international financial institutions to take part in the event. </p> <p> </p> <p> In addition, they propose creating an international tribunal for prosecution of alleged crimes of the authorities and persons associated with the authorities. MEPs welcome the initiative of a number of EU countries to prepare court cases in this context on the principle of universal jurisdiction. </p> <p>   </p> <p> “Like all European Parliament resolutions, the document is recommendatory in nature and not binding,” TASS reports. </p> <p>   </p> <p> As previously reported, after the August 2020 presidential elections in Belarus, a political crisis began in the country. The authorities responded to the protests of citizens who disagreed with the election results with harsh repression and persecution. Since October 2020, the EU has already introduced three packages of sanctions against the Belarusian authorities, and a fourth package is in the pipeline. </p> <p>   </p> <p> Belarus’ mutual trade with the EU in 2020 totalled $11.9 billion (exports - $5.4 billion, imports - $6.5 billion). Trade with the EU in the first quarter of 2021 accounted for 21% of Belarus' total foreign trade turnover. End </p>

2021-06-11

Primepress