European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels yesterday agreed to impose new sanctions on Belarus. “The [European Council] today amended its sanctions regime in view of the situation at the EU’s border with Belarus, so as to be able to respond to the instrumentalisation of human beings carried out by the Belarus regime for political purposes,” an EU statement said. “Today’s decision reflects the determination by the European Union to stand up to the instrumentalization of migrants for political purposes. We are pushing back on this inhuman and illegal practice,'’ EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.
According to a report in Deutsche Welle, the move means that measures will include airlines and travel agents allegedly involved in the standoff at the Belarusian borders with EU member states Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania. EU headquarters said the bloc “will now be able to target individuals and entities organizing or contributing to activities by the Lukashenko regime that facilitate illegal crossing of the EU’s external borders.'’ European Commission President Usrula von der Leyen said, “Coming days will be decisive. We are also trying to help the countries of origin,” she added.
