Von der Leyen went public after meeting US President Joe Biden in the White House.
(Photo: dpa)
Washington, Brussels The EU states are tightening economic fines against Belarus. As early as next Monday, the foreign ministers want to expand the existing sanctions list by around two dozen people, as the Handelsblatt learned from EU circles. In total, the EU will have around 200 supporters of the regime of ruler Alexander Lukashenko blocked entry and property.
At the same time, the EU foreign ministers meeting is to lay the legal foundations for targeting airlines that take part in Belarusian smuggling activities. To this end, the sanctions regime is to be supplemented by aiding and abetting people smuggling. “We will expand our sanctions against Belarus very quickly at the beginning of next week,” announced EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday.
For the first time, not only Belarusians could be sanctioned for supporting the Lukashenko regime, but also members of third countries. For example travel companies and organizers of charter flights.
The EU accuses Lukashenko of using refugees as a weapon for a “hybrid attack” on the European external border. The situation in the border area with Poland is dramatic, several thousand people are here, behind them the Belarusian military, in front of them Polish barbed wire. To thwart the dictator’s plans, the EU is also threatening international airlines such as Emirates and Turkish Airlines, which offer scheduled flights from Dubai and Istanbul to Minsk, respectively.
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Airlines should cancel flights to Minsk
Von der Leyen moved the crisis on the European external border into the focus of her US trip, and the Commission President will be in Washington until Thursday. The Belarusian ruler Lukashenko “should know that he will never be able to blackmail the EU,” she said.
After a meeting with US President Joe Biden, von der Leyen underlined the importance of the conflict as an “urgent international matter”. The tense situation is “a challenge for the entire EU. This is not a refugee crisis, it is an attempt by an authoritarian regime to destabilize its democratic neighbors, ”said von der Leyen. “We have to protect our democracies from such cynical geopolitical power games”.
Von der Leyen specifically highlighted possible sanctions against airlines, “which will facilitate human trafficking in the direction of Minsk and then to the border between the EU and Belarus.” but also meet companies ”. Brussels hopes that the threat of sanctions alone will lead airlines to cancel flights from the Middle East to Minks.
The Commission is working very closely with Lithuania, Latvia and Poland during the crisis, emphasized Von der Leyen. She spoke to the heads of government of the three countries and offered further help. Von der Leyen did not answer questions about the role of Russia. The EU states are well aware that Lukashenko can only stay in power thanks to the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
At first it remained unclear what steps the USA would take against Belarus. After meeting Biden, Von der Leyen suggested that the US government was working on sanctions that could come into effect in early December. However, there has so far been no confirmation from the White House or the US State Department.
More: Showdown in the border area: Lukashenko is planning that – and so the EU can defend itself