The EU agrees on more sanctions against Belarus to align them with those of Russia and avoid maneuvers by Moscow

BRUSSELS, June 26 () –

The member states of the European Union agreed this Wednesday to impose new sanctions against Belarus to align the measures in force with those against Russia and thus prevent Moscow from evading the restrictions through Minsk.

“EU ambassadors have reached an agreement in principle on a new sanctions package against Belarus. It will strengthen our measures in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including the fight against sanctions circumvention,” the Belgian presidency reported. of the Council in a message on social networks.

Sources from the Belgian presidency explain that, with this package of sanctions, the bloc closes the largest hole in its sanctions, since Russia and Belarus have a customs union that facilitates maneuvers to avoid punitive measures.

The purpose of this movement is to align the sanctions against Belarus with all the rounds of sanctions approved against Russia, diplomatic sources have indicated to Europa Press. Thus there would be a mirror between the 14th round of sanctions against Russia and the measures against Belarus, putting a limit on Minsk’s assistance to Moscow in circumventing the sanctions and helping the Russian war effort.

This package of measures has been on the table of EU ambassadors for almost two years and the main obstacle was the lack of agreement to sanction Belarusian fertilizers, considered key to the food security of continents such as Africa.