At their council on Monday, the EU foreign ministers expanded the sanctions framework for Belarus to include the smuggling and instrumentalization of migrants in the future.

Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas also threatened further “tough economic sanctions” that affect entire sectors.

“We are still a long way from the end of the spiral of sanctions,” he said.

The Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, meanwhile, expressed concern that Russian troops might invade Ukraine in the shadow of the border conflict or establish a permanent presence on the border with Poland and Lithuania.

In an interview with the FAZ and other European media, he said that a special NATO meeting was not necessary at the moment.

Thomas Gutschker

Political correspondent for the European Union, NATO and the Benelux countries based in Brussels.

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The expansion of the sanctions framework does not only affect Belarusian representatives.

It now refers to all persons and organizations that "organize illegal crossings at the EU's external borders" or contribute to it, as the Council announced.

"We are pushing back this inhuman and illegal practice," said EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell.

In the second step, people and entities are to be listed that are then subject to entry and asset barriers;

Companies must stop all business activities in the EU.

Legally watertight?

So far, the EU has imposed sanctions on 166 people and organizations for participating in election fraud or serious human rights violations. In the responsible council working groups, a list with around thirty other entries is currently being checked to see whether it is legally watertight. According to FAZ information, both the Belarusian airline Belavia and the country's foreign minister Vladimir Makey are on it.

The Belarusian ruler Alexandr Lukashenko is demanding "that we all remove our sanctions," said Federal Foreign Minister Maas on Monday. The answer is now with a further tightening of the punitive measures. Maas threatened airlines from other countries that continue to bring migrants to Minsk with "tough sanctions": "The situation is so dramatic that I can no longer rule out the denial of overflight rights or landing permits in Europe." "That tough economic sanctions are inevitable".

The EU first imposed such sectoral sanctions in June with its fourth sanction package. They are directed against the trade in certain products made from potash and oil, and against the importation of machines that are needed to manufacture cigarettes. These product groups can still be expanded significantly; for example, only a fifth of Belarusian potash exports are currently blocked. The American government, for example, will carry out such an expansion with new sanctions, which are due to come into force on December 8th. Cigarettes themselves could also be sanctioned, as the Lithuanian Foreign Minister Landsbergis suggested.

Landsbergis spoke on the sidelines of the Council of Foreign Ministers. He pointed out that now more migrants are trying to cross the border to his country. "There are worrying signs that the pressure is shifting," he said. A few weeks ago, crossings were mainly registered in the southern area of ​​the border, i.e. close to Poland, "now we are seeing attempts along the entire border, which is almost 700 kilometers long". The Lithuanian side also said that 180 attempted border crossings had been registered on Monday night, compared with only twenty to thirty in the previous weeks. Before the event shifted to the border with Poland, the numbers were between 300 and 400 attempts in 24 hours.

Landsbergis expressed concern about the stationing of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine. They were stationed at the same distance from the border with Belarus as from the border with Ukraine. "The game that Putin is playing here is that we cannot say for sure who is being attacked," said the foreign minister. "It is very likely that Ukraine could be attacked while we are dealing with the situation on the border with Poland and Lithuania." But it could also be that "Belarus is attacked", in the sense that Russia " established a permanent military presence ”. “Both options are on the table”. It could be "that one day Belarusian border guards will be replaced by FSB border guards," said Landsbergis. When asked, he made it clear that it was an "assumption"he has no evidence of this.

Landsbergis also moved away from the idea that Lithuania, Latvia and Poland would convene a special meeting of NATO under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty;

it leads to consultations with the entire alliance if a country sees its security at risk.

“We believe that what our ambassadors are doing is sufficient at this point, at this time.” Exchange information;

Last week, the countries briefed the NATO Council on the situation at their borders.

Only when the situation worsens "and we have to ask for help" will a special meeting be called.