Janez Lenarcic, the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, speaking to parliamentarians at the plenary session of the European Parliament, announced that the EU had begun work on a third list of sanctions on Belarus.
“We have begun preparatory work on the third list of sanctions, which will be added to the existing list”, – said Lenarcic.
He explained that the EU will continue to “support Belarusian demonstrators demanding new free and fair elections, civil society in general and independent media in Belarus.”
“There should be no impunity for those who violate human rights in Belarus”, – added Lenarcic.
On October 2, the European Union introduced the first package of individual sanctions against Belarusian officials, accusing them of violence against protest marchers and falsification of the results of the August 9 presidential election. A total of 40 people fell under the sanctions, including law enforcers and representatives of the election authorities of Belarus. At the beginning of November, the EU presented the second sanctions list of anti-Belarus and added the current President Alexander Lukashenko to it.
Individuals who found themselves in the list are not allowed to visit the EU countries. In addition, the sanctions provide for the freezing of assets in the European Union and a ban on the provision of funds.
Later, the EU Foreign Ministers agreed to work on the third sanctions list, which should include not only individuals but also organizations.