““The EU continues to stand by the people of Belarus and maintains unwavering support for the struggle of Belarusians for a free, democratic, sovereign and independent Belarus as part of a peaceful Europe””, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“Today, the EU Council decided to apply additional restrictive measures against 26 individuals and two institutions in Belarus, given the situation in the country. These restrictive measures were applied against various representatives of the judiciary, in particular, against judges who handed down politically motivated sentences, among others, against citizens who spoke out against the Lukashenko regime and against the systemic brutality of Belarusian law enforcement structures, which are responsible for repression against civil society and of the democratic opposition,” says the message published on the website of the European Council.
EU sanctions also apply to the heads of so-called “correctional institutions” – prisons and pre-trial detention facilities, to the head of the medical department of one of these structures, where political prisoners faced inhumane conditions and were subjected to insults.
The sanctions list also includes business representatives who “used privileges from the regime of Oleksandr Lukashenka and were involved in circumventing the EU sanctions regime, the agency says.”
In particular, it is about the Belarusian logistics company Vlate Logistik LLC, which organized two transit points on the borders of Belarus and enjoyed significant tax benefits from the Lukashenko government, and about the management of this company.
The EU list also includes the company Ruzekspeditsiya LLC and its owner, which were involved in circumventing EU sanctions, in particular, in the supply of prohibited automotive equipment to Belarus.
According to the approved sanctions package, EU restrictive measures against Belarus currently apply to 287 individuals and 39 institutions. Sanctions include the freezing of assets, a ban on providing sanctioned subjects with any financial or economic assistance, as well as a ban on travel to the EU, including entry into EU countries or transit through their territory.
“The EU continues to stand by the people of Belarus and maintains unwavering support for the struggle of Belarusians for a free, democratic, sovereign and independent Belarus, as part of a peaceful Europe,” the information of the Council of the EU emphasizes.
On Monday, December 16, a meeting at the level of ministers of foreign affairs of the EU countries is taking place in Brussels, one of the main issues of which is the continuation of aid to Ukraine and the application of additional restrictive measures against the Russian Federation.
Earlier, on December 12, the EU announced the allocation of an additional 30 million euros to support representatives and organizations of civil society in Belarus. This was announced by the European Commissioner for EU Enlargement, Marta Kos, during the opening of the high-level conference on democracy support in Belarus held in the European Parliament.