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Reuters
According to media reports, a person familiar with the matter revealed that the European Union will propose a plan to impose sanctions on more than 70 individuals and organizations, imposing a new round of restrictions on the Belarusian regime.
The move is another phase in the EU’s response to a crackdown by Minsk authorities. In May, the Belarusian government forced a Ryanair flight to land in Minsk to arrest dissident blogger Roman Protasevic, who was flying from Greece to Lithuania. Bloomberg.
The EU has already imposed sanctions on seven Belarusian entities and 88 individuals, including Alexander Lukashenko, and was already working on more sanctions before Protasevic was detained. Earlier this month, EU member states agreed to ban Belarusian aircraft from entering European airspace.
READ ALSOEuropean Parliament calls for tougher sanctions on BelarusThe new measures will add another 71 individuals and seven organizations to the list, which was expanded by Platasevic’s arrest, the sources said.
The list includes judges and prosecutors involved in sentencing protesters, as well as lawmakers, government and law enforcement officials and business executives with ties to the regime, the sources said.
Others hit were a handful of companies and exporters accused of supporting the Lukashenko government and its crackdown on civil society.
The proposed measures have yet to be adopted by member states before they can be implemented.
The sanctions include an EU travel ban and an asset freeze.
Technical work on further targeted economic sanctions is continuing. An EU official told Bloomberg last month that specific industries affected could include areas such as potash fertilizers.
READ ALSOLukashenko designates the day of the Soviet invasion of Poland and Ukraine as Belarus Unification DayPotash fertilizer is Belarus’ main export product, which also meets a large part of Europe’s demand and is the only abundant mineral resource.
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