EU court upholds sanctions against Belaruskali, its CEO and BPC

The European Court of Justice did not lift the sanctions against Belaruskali, its CEO Ivan Halavaty, and the Belarusian Potash Company. It considered the Belarusian side's arguments insufficient. In particular, the lawyers representing Belaruskali's interests insisted that by introducing sectoral sanctions, the EU Council had allegedly violated fundamental human rights and acts of international law, the principle of legal certainty, and the rule according to which sanctions must be targeted.

The Belarusian company, along with BPC and Halavaty, will now have to bear the weight of the legal costs, further adding to the impact of the sanctions.

Belaruskali previously tried to sue Lithuania for refusing to transport potash fertilizers and issued an invoice for one billion euros. Lithuania terminated the agreement to transport Belarusian fertilizers in February 2022 on national security grounds. The European Union and the United States banned their exports in 2021. To get the sanctions lifted, Aliaksandr Lukashenka predicted world famine. But it did not work.