March 21 The Foreign Ministers of 27 EU countries decided to expand the list of the Belarusian officials, banned from entering the EU territory. According to the EU decision, sanctions are imposed in respect of another 19 representatives of the Belarusian authorities "due to the deteriorating situation of human rights in Belarus."
It is reported that an expanded list of banned in the EU countries will be published on March 22, RIA «Novosti» news agency.
According to the European officials, the new sanctions measures are «point in nature» and aimed at those who «provide an outflow of money into the pockets of government officials from the revenues, received by the oil company Belneftekhim, a manufacturer of armaments Beltechexport and potash fertilizers Belaruskaliy.
Meanwhile, a source in government circles said that Belarus had already prepared a response to the EU sanctions. According to the source, they will affect more than 150 persons from the European Union and the United States, including the chairman of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek, MEP Jacek Protasiewicz, a number of other politicians, parliamentarians and journalists.
As Telegraf previously reported, February 2, the EU decided to introduce a new package of sanctions against Belarusian officials, including President Alexander Lukashenko. The EU decided to freeze all assets and economic resources of 157 representatives of the Belarusian authorities. Visa sanctions were applied to 158 officials.
