On March 27, 2025, the Council of the European Union adopted Council Implementing Decision (CFSP) 2025/632 and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/631 to add 25 individuals and 7 entities to the EU Sanctions List. According to the Council, these designations were imposed against those who have contributed to or supported the repressive Lukashenka regime or had a role in Belarus’s so-called presidential election. The designees include the Central Election Commission (“CEC”), and several of its leaders and members, for undermining democracy in Belarus by organizing the 2025 presidential elections that were neither free nor fair and were conducted in a climate of repression and human rights violations. The designations also include Aleh Ramanau, the Chair of the largest political party that holds a majority of seats in the Belarusian parliament, and nine judges that engaged in the repression of civil society and democratic opposition in Belarus for imposing politically motivated sentences on citizens who protested against or expressly disagreed with the Lukashenka regime. Several companies and businessmen that support the Lukashenka regime were also designated, including Ridotto LLC and its majority shareholder Dzmitry Shvedka.
According to the Council, all of the new designees engaged in actions that undermined democracy and the rule of law in Belarus; contributed to the ongoing internal repression in the country; engaged in human rights abuses in Belarus; or supported Belarus’s military cooperation with Russia to support its war against Ukraine. The designations were imposed pursuant to the Belarus sanctions regime, which subjects listed individuals and entities to assets freezes and travel bans in the European Union and forbids EU operators from making funds available to them.
Council of the EU Press Release | Council Implementing Decision (CFSP) 2025/632 | Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/631