The EU to introduce new sanctions against Belarus
22:47
As an EU diplomat told journalists in Brussels, EU foreign ministers on Monday (November 15) adopted new criteria for sanctions against Belarus in connection with the crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border.
The European Union has already imposed four sets of sanctions on the Belarusian authorities in connection with the rigging of elections last August. With the escalation of the conflict on the Polish-Belarusian border, the ministers of foreign affairs extended these activities to airlines, travel agencies, and people accused of helping to organize the transport of migrants to Minsk.
“Today's decision reflects the European Union's determination to oppose the instrumentalization of migrants for political purposes. We stand against this inhuman and illegal practice," Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said in a statement.
The EU said it "will now be able to take steps against persons and entities organizing or contributing to the actions of the Lukashenka regime that facilitate the illegal crossing of the EU's external borders."
