EU court annuls sanctions against Belarus tire maker Belshina

Brussels – The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled for the annulment of sanctions Belarus’s state-owned tier maker Belshina AAT, which were imposed over three years ago.

In a 20 March ruling, the court granted Belshina’s annulment application from the EU Belarus sanctions list and ordered the Council of Europe to “pay the costs” following the decision.

The sanctions were levied on Belshina on 2 Dec 2021 on the grounds that it is a ‘leading state-owned company’ providing a ‘substantial source of income’ for the government of Alexander Lukashenko.

Furthermore, the EU’s case claimed that Belshina had ‘repressed civil society’ by dismissing the employees who went on strike following the election of Lukashenko in 2020.

In its defence, the tire maker said it had been loss making and had received more funds in the form of VAT than it paid tax to the Lukashenko government.

Furthermore, the EU Council failed to prove that the dismissals of the protesting employees were due to their opposition to Lukashenko.