Germany: EU sanctions on Belarusian regime may be tightened

German Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to meet with Belarusian opposition representatives during the Eastern Partnership Summit in Warsaw.

The news was spread by Deutsche Welle with reference to the federal chancellor’s office.

Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel plans to meet with Belarusian opposition members at the EaP summit in Poland’s capital, Warsaw, on September 29. As a source from the federal chancellor’s office said on September 27, Berlin may slap tighter sanctions on Belarus’s authoritarian regime. In this way the German government demonstrates its support to the Belarusian opposition, dpa news agency notes.

The chancellor’s office notes that Merkel successfully insisted on absence of Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who faced international isolation, in Warsaw.

As the federal chancellor’s office emphasizes, this is a clear signal of the German government that it won’t tolerate the way official Minsk treats opposition and civil society representatives. Three former Belarusian presidential candidates are still in prison while some prisoners have been released, but not rehabilitated.

The source in the federal chancellor’s office warns that EU sanctions against the Belarusian regime may be toughened if Minsk does not change the current policy. Lukashenka and over 100 top officials are banned from entering the EU and their assets in the EU were frozen. These sanctions can also be applied to the henchmen of the regime, who take part in trials over opposition members, the source says.