When Putin and Lukashenko last met in Sochi, the Russian holiday resort on the Black Sea coast, the EU foreign ministers again discussed possible sanctions against Russia in Brussels. With the decision on new punitive measures, the EU is reacting again to the ongoing human rights violations. But this time the EU wants to take a more targeted approach: So it wants to hit those who supported the arrest and conviction of the oppositionist Alexei Navalny.
In Germany there is widespread skepticism because previous sanctions have not led to the desired results either. Others believe the measures are too weak and Russia should be sanctioned even more economically. It is important to find the right balance in order to effectively enforce the will of the EU.
Meanwhile, citizens of Russia and Belarus have other concerns. Governments use a variety of intimidation tactics to minimize resistance in society. This leads to numerous arrests, which often lead to severe punishments. Most recently, women journalists were arrested in Belarus for filming a demonstration, while in Russia a deaf person received a hefty fine for shouting slogans out loud.
However, the decisions of the foreign ministers are initially limited to the events relating to Alexei Navalnys. For example, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) recognized the illegality of the judgments against the opposition politician and demanded an immediate release from the Russian authorities, but this was rejected.
Russia is a member of the Council of Europe and therefore part of the scope of the ECHR. With the violation of international conventions by Putin and his cabinet, the Navalny case is to be seen as an international and not an internal matter.
However, it is questionable how such repression can be effectively combated from outside. A path that has already been taken is to strengthen the economic embargo of 2014. Even then, successes were achieved because Putin was forced to negotiate in Minsk and the storm on eastern Ukraine subsided. The Navalny case, however, cannot be compared to an armed conflict. In addition, the economic embargo would only affect the already battered citizens and not those who are responsible for the injustice. Another possibility would be to stop construction on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Ultimately, the EU foreign ministers opted for targeted sanctions against individuals who have yet to be identified. The rules of the “Global Human Rights Regime”, which were only adopted in December last year, are to be implemented at the beginning of March. Above all, this should affect repeat offenders who are becoming more and more openly involved in human rights violations in authoritarian regimes. These are said to have to contend with travel bans, blocked EU bank accounts or property seizures in the future. This is how Russia had previously reacted to similar travel bans. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is meanwhile talking about breaking off all relations with the EU, which does not promise a rosy future for the already undercooled relationship between the two blocs.
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