The Polish government has expressed its dissatisfaction with the Swedish presidency of the Council of the European Union, according to Andrzej Sadoś, the Polish ambassador to the EU, who spoke to PAP. He noted that there has been little progress in advancing EU sanctions against Belarus.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced sanctions against Belarus in early January, citing the country’s support for Russian aggression against Ukraine and its persecution of opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. The sanctions were imposed in response to ongoing human rights violations in the country.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called for a new package of sanctions on Belarus in response to Russia’s declaration to station nuclear weaponry in the country.
But on Monday, Sadoś told PAP that work on EU sanctions against Belarus had reached a dead end in Brussels and many EU countries do not hide their disappointment with the passivity of the Swedish presidency, which is responsible for their coordination.
“The Swedes practically do nothing in this matter,” Sadoś argued.
Unconfirmed reports from the Polish Press Agency (PAP) suggest that some Western European countries are stalling the adoption of new sanctions against Minsk. These countries are reportedly demanding that current restrictions on the import of certain potash fertilisers be removed in exchange for the new sanctions.
Countries including Poland and the Baltic States are staunchly opposing any potential easing of restrictions.
“We hoped that the Scandinavian presidency would be ambitious as far as the eastern dimension is concerned. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen,” Sadoś said.
“We were very disappointed with this lack of ambition as it comes to sanctions against Belarus, which are so needed because of the persecution of the opposition in this country, involvement in the war on Russia’s side, as well as plans to deploy nuclear weapons on its territory,” he added.