The EU Council approved a new package of sanctions against Belarus this Saturday, designed to prevent Russia from circumventing the restrictive measures through Minsk.
Among the approved sanctions are a ban on the import of coal, crude oil and any minerals, gold, diamonds or helium from Belarus.
On the other hand, Brussels has banned countries from exporting dual-use goods and technologies to Minsk, that is, those that can be used for military and civilian purposes, as well as products for oil refining.
The EU has also stopped providing certain services to Belarus, from accounting to advertising, whether they are intended for the government, public bodies or any person or company acting at the direction of the country.
As specified in the statement, the veto power also applies to audit services, legal advice, financial, business and information technology advice, architecture, design, advertising and public relations, market analysis, product testing and technical control services.
In the field of transport, sanctions include a ban on the use of trailers and semi-trailers registered in Belarus for the transport of goods by road within the EU.
The new sanctions oblige EU companies exporting firearms, ammunition and sensitive technologies outside the EU market to include a so-called “no Belarus” clause in their contracts.
This clause excludes the possibility of re-exporting this product to Belarus.
The European Union also canceled the transit of dual-use goods and technologies through the territory of Belarus.
The 14th round of EU sanctions against Russia following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine was approved on Monday.