© Reuters
– Roman Protasevich
The European Union imposed economic sanctions on Belarus on Thursday over the forced landing of a Ryanair plane in Minsk on May 23rd and the detention of journalist and opposition activist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega.
New targeted economic sanctions include a ban on the direct or indirect sale, supply, transfer or export of equipment, technology or software intended primarily for use in monitoring or intercepting the Internet and telephone communications and dual-use goods and military technology.
European companies are banned from trading in Belarusian oil products, tobacco products and potassium chloride, which is used to produce fertilizers and is the main product exported by Belarus.
The access of Belarusian individuals and legal entities to the capital markets in the EU is restricted and the provision of insurance and reinsurance to the Belarusian government and Belarusian public bodies and agencies is prohibited. The European Investment Bank will suspend payments under all existing public sector project agreements and all technical assistance contracts.
Member States will also be required to take action to limit Belarus’ participation in multilateral development banks of which they are members.
The EU has already banned Belarusian airlines from flying over European airspace, as well as using European airports for landing and take-off.
On Monday, the EU expanded the list of Belarusian citizens banned from joining the EU by 78 individuals and 8 companies and froze their holdings in European banks. We are talking about close associates and employees of President Alexander Lukashenko, his ministers, judges, deputies, the military. Thus, the EU sanctions list for Belarus covered 166 people and 15 legal entities.
–
