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The special EU summit paved the way for sanctions against Belarus after a week-long lockdown. Cyprus withdrew its veto. Furthermore, Brussels continues to threaten Turkey with sanctions.
After weeks of lockdown, the EU removed the last hurdle to sanctions against Belarusian officials around President Alexander Lukashenko. The punitive measures are to beat 40 people accused of fraudulent elections and the repression of peaceful protests in Belarus, as announced by diplomats at the EU summit in Brussels that night. Lukashenko will be exempt from the sanctions for the time being.
Cyprus previously renounced its veto on the planned measures. The country had made approval dependent on the willingness of EU partners to also take punitive measures against Turkey for gas exploration in controversial waters in the eastern Mediterranean.
According to the President of the Council, Charles Michel, the sanctions should take effect immediately. After the agreement, a written procedure for the formal decision must follow immediately, Michel told a press conference after the first day of the special EU summit. This is a clear sign of the credibility of the EU. The head of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, added that she was glad that the path for sanctions was finally clear.
Strong warning to Turkey
After hours of negotiations, the summit participants agreed on a strong signal of solidarity with Cyprus and Greece, as well as a strong warning to Ankara that sanctions could be threatened if drilling for natural gas continued.
The dispute with Cyprus was embarrassing for the EU, especially since the sanctions against Belarus announced weeks ago were pending until the end. Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with an iron fist for 26 years. According to official reports, he won the presidential election on August 9 with 80 percent of the vote. His fiercest rival, Svetlana Tichanowskaja, reached 10 percent.
However, the opposition around Tichanovskaya does not recognize the result, as do thousands of his supporters who speak of electoral fraud and demand Lukashenko’s resignation. The 27 EU member states, including Cyprus, do not accept the outcome of the elections in Belarus and are calling for new elections.
Merkel speaks of “great progress”
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) described the EU summit resolutions as “great progress”. The sanctions adopted against supporters of the controversial Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko are “a very important signal.”
There was a “long and difficult discussion” about the EU policy towards Turkey with member states Cyprus and Greece, which are waging a dispute with Turkey over natural gas exploration in the Mediterranean. However, they want to call for a “constructive agenda with Turkey, provided that efforts to reduce tensions also continue.” She hopes that there will now be “dynamic negotiations” with Turkey, also with a view to refugee policy and customs union with the EU, Merkel stressed.
Postponement until the December summit
At the December summit at the latest, the situation in the eastern Mediterranean should be discussed again and a decision on how to proceed. French President Emmanuel Macron said that if the dialogue was not continued, restrictive measures were envisaged. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz had already advocated for a tougher line and called for sanctions and the termination of EU accession talks with Turkey.
On the second day of today’s summit, the main focus in Brussels will be the economic consequences of the pandemic, including the 750 billion krona aid package. In connection with the ongoing talks, at the start of yesterday’s summit, Parliament Speaker Sassoli accused German negotiators of putting parliament under unacceptable pressure because he wants to link the payment of funds to compliance with the rule of law.
With information from Matthias Reiche, ARD-Studio Brussels
