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The new package of sanctions includes measures restricting Belarus’ ability to export potash fertilizers, petroleum products and tobacco products, the Community said in a statement.
In addition, Minsk’s access to EU capital markets will be restricted and insurance or reinsurance services to the Belarusian government and state institutions will be prohibited.
“The new selective economic sanctions will include the prohibition of the sale, supply, transfer or export, directly or indirectly, to any person in Belarus of equipment, technology or software whose main objective is the supervision or interception of telephone communications or via the Internet, as well as dual-use items and technology, for the military or for specific individuals, entities or bodies in Belarus, “the EU Council said in a statement.
These economic sanctions are the most comprehensive sanctions ever imposed on Belarus. They were introduced in the wake of western outrage, when Lukashenko sent a fighter jet in late May to take over the Ryanair airliner from Athens to Vilnius.
Raman Pratasevičius, a Belarusian opposition blogger, and his friend Sofia Sapega, a Russian citizen studying in Vilnius, were detained after the plane forcibly landed in Minsk.
On Monday, the Community sanctioned 86 other individuals and entities for the landing of a passenger ship and the broader repression of the opposition by the Minsk regime.
Belarus has been in crisis for months after the August presidential elections. Lukashenko, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1994, has been declared the winner, but the opposition and Western democracies believe the election was rigged.
Since the beginning of the crisis, the EU has announced a total of four packages of sanctions against the Belarusian regime, in addition to the new measures introduced on Thursday. The restrictions apply to a total of 166 natural persons and 15 legal persons.
The United States also extended sanctions to Minsk on Monday; his example was soon followed by the United Kingdom and Canada.
Furthermore, last month, the EU banned Belarusian airlines from flying to Community countries and urged their companies not to use Belarusian airspace.
However, so far Lukashenko has refused to succumb to Western pressure, warning on Thursday that a state of war could be imposed on part of the country to avoid an economic recession due to the effects of sanctions.
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