EU Belarus sanctions agreement blocked by Cyprus
September 23, 2020
Watch insights on the latest news about Europe from Carl Bildt, Co-Chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations and former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Sweden.
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Why can't Europe agree on Belarus sanctions?
I think they can agree but the problem is that Cyprus has blocked. There's a veto right inside the European Union and they have blocked everything. I mean, everyone agrees, all of other Member States agrees that we should have had those sanctions in place. But the Cypriots have their own views. And then they are blackmailing, they are saying you have to sanction Turkey as well, at the same time. And most other states say there's no connection between the two. So, we do have somewhat of a constitutional crisis over foreign affairs inside the European Union. Distinctly not a good situation.
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