The European Union has joined the UK in new sanctions against Belarus as pressure mounts on Minsk over the arrest of a prominent critic in what has been called a “state-sponsored hijack” of a plane.
A special meeting of the EU Council was held on Monday evening, hours before an already-planned summit, with the 27 members states agreeing to ban Belarusian airlines from EU airspace and airports, and recommending EU airlines do not fly to the country.
It comes after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps instructed the Civil Aviation Authority to request airlines avoid Belarusian air space “to keep passengers safe”. He also suspended the operating permit for Belavia, the country’s state-owned airline.
At a crunch summit, the EU also demanded the immediate release of Roman Protasevich, an opposition blogger who has been described as the private enemy of Alexander Lukashenko.
May 24, 2021
EU leaders came to the decision at an emergency summit held on Monday and are expected to enforce the sanctions as soon as legal proceedings will allow. Courtesy file photo
BRUSSELS European Union leaders have agreed on a set of sanctions to be laid against Belarus after a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was forced to land in Minsk and a Belarusian journalist on board was detained.
In addition to blocking the use of the 27-country bloc s airspace and airports, the EU is expected to hit individual officials linked to the incident with sanctions, the Associated Press has reported.
The European Union has joined the UK in new sanctions against Belarus as pressure mounts on Minsk over the arrest of a prominent critic in what has been called a “state-sponsored hijack” of a plane.
A special meeting of the EU Council was held on Monday evening, hours before an already-planned summit, with the 27 members states agreeing to ban Belarusian airlines from EU airspace and airports, and recommending EU airlines do not fly to the country.
It comes after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps instructed the Civil Aviation Authority to request airlines avoid Belarusian air space “to keep passengers safe”. He also suspended the operating permit for Belavia, the country’s state-owned airline.
EU joins UK in sanctions against Belarus over hijacked plane eveningexpress.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eveningexpress.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.