The heads of state and government of the European Union decided to respond seriously in Brussels: Belarusian aircraft will not be allowed to fly to the European Union and European airlines will be required not to use Belarusian airspace. Additional penalties are expected.

As the first item on the agenda, the heads of state and government of the European Union addressed the unprecedented case of forcing the Belarusian authorities to land one of Ryanair’s flights over the country, and one of the passengers, the opposition journalist Raman Pratasevic, was arrested. The leaders of the European Union who reached the summit strongly condemned the invasion of the Lukashenko regime and spoke of not losing its consequences.

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The exception was Victor Urban, who did not say a word about everything and uploaded it to Facebook In his videoHowever, he mentioned the issue of immigration, which is not on the agenda of the current two-day summit at all. The seriousness of the issue is highlighted by the fact that at the start of the meeting, President Charles Michel of the European Council called on heads of state and government (and everyone in the room) to take their cell phones out of a room during the discussion about Belarus and Russia. So they adopted the following A package of measures. Accordingly, the European Council

  • Demands the immediate release of journalists Raman Pratasevic and Sophia Sabega and their free movement,

  • Calls upon the International Civil Aviation Organization to investigate this unprecedented and unacceptable event as a matter of urgency;

  • The Council calls for the adoption of a specific list of sanctions as soon as possible, including for individuals and organizations;

  • Invites the High Representative and the Commission to submit a proposal to this effect without delay;

  • All air carriers in the European Union are encouraged to avoid Belarusian airspace,

  • The Council calls for the necessary measures to be taken to prevent Belarusian airlines from entering European Union airspace, and also calls on these airlines to reach EU airports.

  • Expresses its solidarity with Latvia after the unjustified expulsion of Latvian diplomats.

Meanwhile, news can be read on Twitter that Raman Pratasevic’s mother said the journalist was taken to hospital with very serious injuries as he was abused in prison. His condition is critical.

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