Germany and France ease EU sanctions package against Belarus

Germany and several other exporting countries, including France, have succeeded in easing the EU's sanctions plans against Belarus, approved at the ambassadorial level.

At Berlin's insistence, the negotiations failed to reach an agreement on a comprehensive EU ban on vehicle exports. In the future, only those vehicles that can be used for military purposes will be banned from being exported to Belarus.

France also supported the demands to ease sanctions against Belarus. Exceptions should be made for luxury goods such as leather goods, perfumes and wines.

The countries of Central and Eastern Europe, in particular Poland and the Baltic states, have been insisting for months of negotiations that Belarus be subject to the same economic sanctions as russia.

In addition to Belarus' support for russia's aggression against Ukraine, the reason for this was that russia and Belarus are linked by a customs union and goods can move freely from one country to the other.

Opponents of even more far-reaching sanctions measures, on the other hand, argued that Belarus is not yet a direct party to the war, and thus should not be subject to the same treatment as russia.

Source: DPA