PRESS RELEASE

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Belgian MP Submits Resolution To Lift EU Sanctions Against Russia

Jan. 10, 2017 (EIRNS)—The Belgian parliament’s External Affairs Committee on Tuesday considered a draft resolution demanding an end to the European Union's sanctions against Russia, resolution author Member of Parliament Aldo Carcassi told TASS beforehand.

"The objective of the resolution is to empower the Belgian government to call on the EU Council to lift the European sanctions against Russia, as they inflict damage on Belgian farmers,"

Carcassi said. "On Jan. 10, the External Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Representatives will hold hearings on the resolution."

The sanctions have reduced Belgian-Russian trade from €15.1 billion in 2013 to €11.4 billion now, resulting in the Belgian farm sector losing 5% of its market.

The resolution says that the sanctions contravene international law, since the UN Security Council is the only body that has powers to impose sanctions. Second, the resolution says the sanctions contravene the European Union’s own logic, since the EU linked their sanctions to Russia’s compliance with all the provisions of the Minsk accords on settling the armed civil conflict in eastern Ukraine, whereas Russia is not a party to that conflict. Third, the document underlines inefficiency of the sanctions, and finally, the resolution calls Russia a friend and ally in the struggle against terrorism and extremist organizations like the Islamic State.

Obviously, popular resistance to the EU sanctions is growing: Carcassi had introduced a resolution for debate in the parliament in July 2016. At the time, Sputnik reported that similar resolutions against the sanctions had been introduced in the French and Cypriot parliaments, and also in Italian regional bodies in Tuscany, Lombardy, Veneto, and Liguria.