European Parliament announces sanctions against Belarus

Published on May 6, 2022

A package of sanctions against Belarus hitting their most important sectors and individuals supporting the Russian war effort. Sanctions to close existing loopholes and impose further import and export restrictions on key economic sectors:

  • Terminating the exemption for contracts concluded prior to the adoption of existing sanctions.
  • Adding new import prohibitions on potash, wood, cement, iron and steel, and rubber products and export prohibitions on certain types of machinery, dual-use goods and technology, as well as other advanced goods and technology which might contribute to Belarus’ military, technological, defence and security development.
  • targeted restrictive measures on high ranking members of Belarusian military personnel.
  • SWIFT prohibitions similar to those for Russia, and further expanding the existing financial restrictions, in line with the measures already in place regarding Russia sanctions.

WTO accession process

In light of Belarus’ material support to the Russian invasion, its accession process is suspended and the EU will not participate in any accession-related work. This was confirmed in a joint statement with other like-minded WTO members on 22 March.

Fact: The sanctions will significantly reinforce the current sectoral measures, targeting 5 of the top 10 export sectors of the Belarusian economy and the most important EU exports to Belarus. The measures will now cover almost 70% of all Belarusian exports to the EU.

”Freeze and Seize” Task Force

The Commission has set up a “Freeze and Seize Task Force” to explore the links between assets belonging to persons listed under EU sanctions and criminal activities. While investigations and prosecutions are the responsibility of Member States, the aim of the Task Force is to strengthen coordination that is needed at operational level to ensure the effective enforcement of EU sanctions across all Member States.

The Task Force is composed of the representatives of the Commission, contact points from each Member State, Eurojust and Europol. It will coordinate its work with the “Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO) Task Force” set up between the G7 countries, Australia and the European Union. It will meet weekly and will remain operational for the time necessary.

This information was published by the European Commission. To read the original article go to:  https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/stronger-europe-world/eu-solidarity-ukraine/eu-sanctions-against-russia-following-invasion-ukraine_en