Lithuania plans natl sanctions against Russia if EU fails to extend its own - BNS SPECIAL

VILNIUS - Lithuania seeks to have the possibility to impose national economic sanctions on Russia and Belarus if they are no longer extended on the EU level.

Such amendments, seen by BNS, are to be added to the existing law on restrictive measures in response to military aggression against Ukraine as Lithuanian lawmakers are debating its extension until May 2026.

The proposal on the possibility of imposing economic sanctions has been drafted by the Foreign Ministry, but the existing bid is to register them through a lawmaker or a group of lawmakers as only one vote is left for the law to pass in the Seimas.

This way Lithuania wants to have a mechanism for economic sanctions against Russia and Belarus in case the EU fails to extend its own. The document stresses that such a mechanism would be used as a "last resort measure".

The existing economic sanctions against the Kremlin expire at the end of July, but the EU has recently encountered opposition from Hungary when extending them, and there are fears that this could happen again in the future.

"While the European Union remains ready to increase pressure on Russia, including through additional sanctions, the further non-extension of EU sanctions against Russia may result from the systematic action of certain EU member states against the common security interests of Europe," the motion states.

For this reason, "it is appropriate to provide in the law for the possibility of imposing restrictions on funds and economic resources on Russian and Belarusian natural and legal persons" who support the war launched by the Kremlin in Ukraine and undermine the sovereignty and security of that country, it reads.

Under the proposed changes, the list of persons, entities and organizations to be subject to "measures freezing funds and economic resources" would be determined by the government.

The first national sanctions against Russian and Belarusian citizens were introduced by the Lithuanian Seimas in 2023. They were updated and extended last year and mainly include restrictions on Russian and Belarusian nationals, but the update earlier this year sparked a parliamentary debate on the ban on Russian and Belarusian agricultural production, which is included in the law.

Meanwhile, the EU has adopted 16 sanction packages on Russia since February 24, 2022, when Moscow launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine. They target both specific individuals and sectors of the Kremlin's economy and companies.