The EU sanctions against Belarus did not have the desired effect, said the representative of the EU foreign policy Peter Stano during a briefing. The video was published on the official website of the European Commission.
Stano recalled that the EU has already introduced three packages of sanctions against the Belarusian authorities. He stressed that the sanctions regime will remain in force until the repression in the country stops and the authorities agree to take part in a national dialogue to find ways out of the crisis.
The EU representative noted that it takes more time to judge the effectiveness of the sanctions. “Yes, the repression has not stopped, all those who were detained without any reason, just because of the peaceful expression of their views, are still in custody, so bad things are still going on in Belarus,” Stano admitted. He stressed that in this regard, the EU countries are constantly reviewing the imposed restrictions and may extend them.
On December 17, the European Union approved the third package of sanctions against Belarus in connection with the “ongoing repression against civil society.” 29 new names and 7 enterprises were added to the sanctions list. Great Britain joined the new sanctions on December 18.