EU Foreign Ministers Approved Expansion of EU Sanctions Regime Against Belarus
Following Lithuania's proposal, the EU sanctions regime against Belarus was supplemented with three additional criteria, the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.
Photo: Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
EU Foreign Ministers approved the expansion of the EU sanctions regime against Belarus on December 15 in Brussels.
Following Lithuania's proposal, the EU sanctions regime against Belarus was supplemented with three additional criteria:
- for hybrid attacks,
- for disrupting critical infrastructure,
- for disinformation and information manipulation.
Based on these criteria, the EU will have grounds for imposing additional individual and sectoral sanctions against Belarus.
"I am satisfied that Lithuania succeeded in achieving its goal — the EU sanctions regime against Belarus has been supplemented with criteria related to hybrid activities. This provides the EU with tools for effective and strict response to malicious activities now and in the future. With this decision, the EU has demonstrated not only its capacity for political consolidation in the face of challenges, but also its ability to make necessary decisions," said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys.