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LONG NEGOTIATIONS: After many hours around the summit table, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, succeeded in getting Cyprus to impose sanctions on Belarusian officials. Photo: Olivier Hoslet / AP / NTB
After Cyprus abandoned its opposition to the EU sanctions against Belarus, there is no political obstacle to imposing sanctions.
– The political decision has been made. On Friday, we will start the written procedure to introduce the sanctions, the president of the European Council said at a press conference on Friday evening. The first day of the Union summit was devoted to foreign affairs, with sanctions against Belarus and relations with Turkey as the main themes.
Cyprus has long sat on its hind legs and refuses to impose sanctions on the people of the Belarusian regime before the other countries agreed to stricter ceilings against Turkey in the Mediterranean. Before the heads of state and government left for the night at 1 o’clock, Cyprus was back in the fold.
Not Lukashenko
Michel says there are about 40 names on the list of people who will be covered by the sanctions. Just over a month ago, the foreign ministers of EU countries agreed in principle that they would impose sanctions on individuals who contributed to electoral fraud and cracked down on demonstrations following the controversial August elections in Belarus.
The EU does not recognize the outcome of the elections and says it does not give Alexander Lukashenko legitimacy as president. Michel says Lukashenko is not on the sanctions list at the moment.
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Call on Turkey to stop
For Cyprus to join, the head of state and government intervened to send a strong signal to Turkey. The latest dispute with the country concerns gas exploration drilling in waters that Greece and Cyprus count as their economic zones.
– We hope that Turkey will stop its unilateral and illegal actions. This is a prerequisite for long-term positive cooperation, says the head of the European Commission, reiterating that all 27 EU countries support Greece and Turkey.
– We are ready to engage with Turkey in a positive way, if they do the same. We want to restart the dialogue and the political process, says Michel.
Turkey was supposed to be a topic during the leaders’ working dinner in Brussels, but it was placed at the top of the agenda as soon as the meeting started.
Was informed
On Thursday, the German prime minister reported on the attempted assassination of Russian regime critic Alexei Navalny. Michel again condemned the use of a nerve agent against Navalny, saying it was a violation of international law. Poisoning will also be a topic at the next summit in two weeks.
Foreign Minister Josep Borrell briefed the summit on the escalation of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. The President of the European Council again called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a renewed dialogue to prevent a further escalation of violence.
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New day awaits
The summit continues on Friday morning with more domestic themes. The leaders will then discuss industrial policy, digital transformation and how they can strengthen the EU internal market. One of the points to be discussed is the so-called strategic autonomy, that is, being less dependent on others in certain areas. The issue has gained relevance after experiences with supplies of, among other things, protective equipment during the pandemic.
On Friday, there will also be a briefing on negotiations with the UK on where the future situation will be when the post-Brexit transition period expires on New Years.
