The Europeans have yet to carry out their threat. But hearing the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, is only a matter of days. A new set of sanctions, the fifth, will very soon be taken against Belarus, as the Minsk regime is instrumentalizing thousands of migrants from the Middle East, attracting them to its soil and then pushing them towards the EU, especially towards Poland. Monday evening, Emmanuel Macron and Valdimir Poutine agreed over the phone on the need to achieve
"de-escalation"
.
Earlier in the afternoon, at a meeting in Brussels, EU foreign ministers agreed on a necessary precondition, namely a change to the current sanctions regime.
Objective: to extend it to practices aimed at "
organizing or contributing to the activities of the Lukashenko regime which facilitate the illegal crossing of the Union's external borders
".
In the line of sight, Belarusian people or entities but also foreign entities complicit in the transport of migrants to Belarus: travel agencies, airlines and / or airports, even aircraft maintenance companies, etc.
This is unprecedented for the Union.
See also
At the borders of Europe, the plight of migrants in the clutches of Minsk
EU sanctions are already targeting 166 people and 15 Belarusian entities, including Alexander Lukashenko, his son and national security adviser Viktor Lukashenko, as well as other key figures in the regime, members of the judiciary and economic actors. The upcoming list should have at least 30 names. These sanctions will affect "
a significant number of people
" and entities, assured Josep Borrell. The EU wants to flex Minsk while dissuading other leaders from resorting to such attacks. "
The work is very advanced and very decanted
", assures a European diplomat.
According to German foreign minister Heiko Maas, Belarus must also expect further reprisals from the EU.
Brussels and the Member States are already considering a sixth set of sanctions.
Because, beyond the instrumentalization of migrants, the internal repression against opponents of the regime has not weakened since the contentious re-election of Lukashenko in August 2020. The ministers spoke about it on Monday.
"
We are far from the end of the spiral of sanctions
", warned the German minister, waving the threat of new "
severe economic sanctions
".
Warsaw announced on Monday that the construction of the wall it wants to install on the Belarusian border will start in December.
While he still denies being behind the attacks, the Belarusian leader continues to blow hot and cold. He now claims to be "
ready (...) to put all
(the migrants, editor's note)
on planes that bring them home
". At the same time, however, Belarusian forces continue to push migrants to Poland. Hundreds thus left, under good escort, their makeshift camps set up in the forest to reach the Polish border post of Bruzgi-Kuznica and to gather in front of them. These migrants have clearly taken false information about the sending of buses from Berlin to Poland to welcome them in Germany at face value. "
Anyone who spreads these lies puts people in great danger
The German Foreign Ministry warned on Sunday afternoon.
Warsaw announced on Monday that the construction of the wall it wants to install on the Belarusian border will start in December.
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"Seen from elsewhere" N ° 66 - The Belarusian migratory attack
The EU's efforts to convince several countries of origin and transit to stop complicit in Minsk are starting to bear fruit. While Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas was traveling to Baghdad on Monday, the Iraqi government announced that it would proceed with the repatriation of its nationals stranded in Belarus. A first flight is scheduled for Thursday. Further progress has been made. The United Arab Emirates on Monday banned flights to Minsk to Iraqi, Yemeni and Syrian citizens, after Turkey on Friday. Will this be enough to stem the influx of migrants to Belarus? Maybe not. “
We have a lot of information that countries and airlines are about to open new routes to Minsk
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said Monday.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda spoke of "
the obvious increase in the activity of migrants traveling via Moscow
(to the EU border),
compensating for the loss of flights between Iraq and Minsk
".
Some Member States believe that the Belarusian attack, covered by Moscow, is also intended to look away from what is currently happening on the Ukrainian border, where Russia has installed an impressive military arsenal.
Paris and London called on Monday evening Moscow
"to restraint"
.