The European Union is set to slap on a fresh sanctions package against Belarus after EU ambassadors okayed the raft of measures at a meeting this Wednesday.
The sanctions are set to include export restrictions on dual-use goods like drones or computers that can be used on the battlefield against Ukraine, as well as aviation parts.
The latest package also includes new listings against 38 individuals and 3 entities, according to four EU diplomats who were granted anonymity to speak because they weren’t authorized to comment on the record.
The exact items are designed to mirror the export restrictions against Russia, in an effort to crack down on military components being illegally routed through Belarus to Russia as it wages its 17-month war against Ukraine.
“The spirit that drives the sanctions against Belarus is to parallel and complement the sanctions against Russia,” said one of the four EU diplomats.
This round of sanctions was adopted relatively quickly: Ambassadors informally agreed to the measures last Tuesday and they were officially green-lit just eight days later.
EU ambassadors were able to approve the fresh military sanctions after the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU linked the issue with another long-stalled deal to strengthen EU relations with 79 African and Caribbean countries.
“After all the headaches for both Belarus and the Ukraine sanctions for the last rounds, I think there will be a moment to reflect on how to do these sanctions in order that … they don’t get ensnared in this horse trading and very bad looking politics before we start moving ahead with new ones,” a fifth EU diplomat said, who was granted anonymity to speak because they aren’t authorized to comment on the record.
But a larger discussion over the extent to which Alexander Lukashenko’s Belarus should be sanctioned in comparison to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine has been ongoing for months.
Talks about sanctioning Belarus are particularly complicated because of the question of potassium fertilizers, with EU member countries like Portugal asking for those fertilizers to be exempted from future sanctions to ensure global food security.
Most EU countries are in favor of the carve-out but Lithuania staunchly was opposed, arguing it would give Lukashenko a lifeline and do little to alleviate food insecurity.
“Our position is no derogations” said another one of the four EU diplomats who’s in the opposing camp, calling for the Commission to look into how fertilizers produced in Africa might be re-routed to countries within Africa rather than being exported.