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EU imposes new sanctions against Belarus

Government Offices of Sweden

02 July 2024

The EU has adopted a new set of sanctions against Belarus, in response to the situation in the country, and its involvement in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. These measures aim to reduce the possibilities of circumventing the sanctions against Russia.

"Sweden has played an active role in strengthening sectoral measures against Belarus. The sanctions package being introduced brings the sanctions against Belarus closer to the sanctions against Russia in several areas, making it more difficult to use Belarus to circumvent the sanctions against Russia," says Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström.

The new sanctions package is necessary for several reasons. Russia's aggression towards Ukraine involves rapidly increasing government spending, and the sanctions put pressure on the Russian economy. The sanctions hamper, delay and increase the cost of acquiring military equipment and critical components for the defence industry. However, we also see that the effect of the sanctions is limited by energy exports income, the use of Russian state reserves, and significant parallel and substitute imports through third countries.

"This is why the EU needs to move forward with new measures. In addition to imposing further sanctions, it is important to close loopholes. This was a priority issue during Sweden's Presidency of the Council of the EU, and the Government continues its efforts to close loopholes and ensure that sanctions are implemented in a uniform and effective manner," Mr Billström concludes.