The European Union aims to impose economic sanctions on 31 senior Belarus officials including the country’s interior minister by mid-September, three EU diplomats said, in response to an August 9 election that the West says was rigged.

However, Greece and Cyprus – which are pushing for separate sanctions on Turkey in a dispute in the Eastern Mediterranean – still need to give their support to the Belarus blacklist, diplomats told Reuters.

All 27 EU countries must agree on such measures and Athens and Nicosia could use their support for the Belarus blacklist to obtain tough measures on Turkey, the diplomats also said.

Almost a month into mass demonstrations against the outcome of the contest, in which President Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory to prolong his 26-year-old rule, the EU aims to punish the government crackdown and support calls for fresh elections.

“We initially agreed on 14 names but many states felt that was not sufficient. We have now reached consensus on another 17,” one EU diplomat said. “These are senior officials responsible for the election, for violence and for the crackdown.”

EU foreign ministers gave their broad political approval for the sanctions – EU travel bans and asset freezes – at a meeting in Berlin late last month but did not decide who to target.

As repression continued against the opposition on Monday, the European Commission said EU sanctions would be imposed very soon, but did not give details.

“There is the political will and determination to have (sanctions) concluded as soon as possible,” a spokesman for the EU executive told a news briefing. “It’s not a question of whether, only when.”

Names could still be added or taken off the list, but the diplomats said formal agreement is likely to come on September 21, when EU foreign ministers hold their next scheduled meeting. The sanctions coming into effect on September 22.

ISLAMABAD: EU Ambassador to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara Sunday said the European Union fully backed Pakistan’s efforts to overcome the socio-economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and build back better for a more sustainable future.“The COVID-19 has shaken the world unexpectedly and we will continue to feel the socio-economic consequences of the virus for quite a long-time. Showing solidarity with each other during the trying times is the responsibility of all of us,” she said.

She said it was an unprecedented challenge, but Pakistan had so far managed the crisis very well. “The data from the WHO (World Health Organisation), which I have followed closely over the past few months, suggests that COVID-19 cases and deaths are on a steep decline in Pakistan.

At the peak of the daily infections in mid-June there were over 6,000 new infections per day and for most of August this has been reduced to about 500 new infections or lower per day. “It was heartening that the Pakistan government’s measures such as smart lockdowns as well as testing and tracing had helped slow down the spread of virus considerably, Androulla Kaminara remarked.

ISLAMABAD: EU Ambassador to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara Sunday said the European Union fully backed Pakistan’s efforts to overcome the socio-economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and build back better for a more sustainable future.

“The COVID-19 has shaken the world unexpectedly and we will continue to feel the socio-economic consequences of the virus for quite a long-time. Showing solidarity with each other during the trying times is the responsibility of all of us,” she said.

She said it was an unprecedented challenge, but Pakistan had so far managed the crisis very well. “The data from the WHO (World Health Organisation), which I have followed closely over the past few months, suggests that COVID-19 cases and deaths are on a steep decline in Pakistan.

At the peak of the daily infections in mid-June there were over 6,000 new infections per day and for most of August this has been reduced to about 500 new infections or lower per day. “It was heartening that the Pakistan government’s measures such as smart lockdowns as well as testing and tracing had helped slow down the spread of virus considerably, Androulla Kaminara remarked.

The government, she said, had taken a number of positive initiatives to stimulate the economy during the difficult time and also to help those segments of the population, which had been particularly affected by the pandemic.

One example was the expansion of the Ehsaas Programme to cover approximately 23 million households, she added. As regards the Pak-EU relations, Ambassador Kaminara said the European Union had been an honest and longstanding partner and friend to Pakistan.

Britain demanded “more realism” from the European Union Monday ahead of crucial post-Brexit trade talks, but the mood was soured by reports that London was looking to rewrite an agreement the two sides had already signed.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief negotiator, David Frost, said “we must make progress this week” if an agreement is to be reached by the end of a post-Brexit transition period in December.

For that, “we need to see more realism from the EU about our status as an independent country”, he said ahead of Tuesday’s talks with the EU’s Michel Barnier in London.

“If they can’t do that in the very limited time we have left, then we will be trading on terms like those the EU has with Australia, and we are ramping up our preparations for the end of the year.”

Talks have been deadlocked for months over issues such as the extent of EU access to UK fishing waters, state aid and fair competition rules. Both sides say a deal must be agreed by a mid-October EU summit.

But there was concern in Brussels on Monday after the Financial Times reported Johnson planned to legislate to override parts of the Withdrawal Agreement struck before Britain left the EU in January.

“Everything that has been signed must be respected,” Barnier warned, saying he would discuss it with Frost.

The FT said legislation to be put before UK parliament this week would undermine agreements relating to Northern Ireland customs and state aid.

Under the protocol, Northern Ireland, which will have Britain’s only land border with the EU, will follow some of the bloc’s rules to ensure the frontier remains open.

Eliminating border checks with the Republic of Ireland was a key part of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended 30 years of violence over British rule in the province.

“I trust the British government to implement the Withdrawal Agreement, an obligation under international law and prerequisite for any future partnership,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said.

‘Remove ambiguity’

Johnson’s spokesman said the UK government was “fully committed to implementing the Withdrawal Agreement and the Northern Ireland protocol, and we have already taken many practical steps to do”.

But he said it was taking “limited and reasonable steps to clarify specific elements” of the protocol in UK law, to “remove any ambiguity”.

The report provoked an angry backlash in Dublin and Belfast, where the prospect of a potential “hard border” is a reminder of “The Troubles”.

“This would be a very unwise way to proceed,” Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said in response to the FT report.

Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said the UK would show “total disregard for the lives and concern of the people of Ireland” if it backtracked on the Brexit deal.

Jitters were also felt on the currency market, where the pound slid against the dollar and euro on fears that the UK-EU talks would fail, severely disrupting trade ties.

‘Sabre-rattling’

Some analysts however suggested the row over Northern Ireland is a move by London to raise the pressure in the trade talks.

Ireland’s deputy prime minister Leo Varadkar said the increased rhetoric from London and Brussels was inevitable “sabre-rattling” and “posturing” as the deadline approached.

Johnson has said that failing to reach agreement would still be a “good outcome” for Britain, dubbing it an “Australia-style” deal.

However, Australia trades with the EU under World Trade Organization rules and tariffs, which would significant disruption to cross-Channel trade.

Britain formally left the 27-member bloc on January 31 but remains bound by EU rules until the end of December while it tries to thrash out new terms of its relationship.

            <p>LONDON (AP) — The U.K.’s chief negotiator in post-Brexit trade talks called for “more realism” from the European Union ahead of the start Tuesday of another round of discussions between the two sides. 

With expectations of a breakthrough in the talks diminishing, there are concerns that they could collapse in the coming weeks. Though the U.K. left the bloc on Jan. 31, it is in a transition period that effectively sees it abide by EU rules until the end of this year. The two sides have been negotiating future trade ties over the past few months but progress has been minimal.

David Frost, the British government’s chief negotiator, said the two sides “can no longer afford to go over well-trodden ground” in the deadlocked talks and that the EU needs to show “more realism” about the U.K.’s status as an independent country. The EU side will be led by its long-time Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier.

“Today, I will sit down with Michel Barnier and drive home our clear message that we must make progress this week if we are to reach an agreement in time,” Frost said. “We have now been talking for six months.”

The trade discussions have made very little progress over the summer, with the two sides seemingly wide apart on several issues, notably on business regulations, the extent to which the U.K. can support certain industries and over the EU fishing fleet’s access to British waters.

Relations appeared to become further strained Monday following reports that Britain’s Conservative government was attempting to unilaterally ride roughshod over its divorce agreement with the EU that paved the way for the U.K.’s smooth departure earlier this year.

EU officials said any attempt to override the international treaty could jeopardize peace in Northern Ireland as well as undermine the chances of any trade deal.

The British government said the publication of planned legislation on Wednesday is intended to tie up some “loose ends” where there was a need for “legal certainty.” It said the Internal Market Bill will ensure goods from Northern Ireland, which is part of the EU, will continue to have unfettered access to the U.K. market, while making clear EU state aid rules, which will continue to apply in Northern Ireland, will not apply in the rest of the U.K.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said Britain could walk away from the talks within weeks and insists that a no-deal exit would be a “good outcome for the U.K.” He said in a statement that any agreement must be sealed by an EU summit scheduled for Oct. 15.

British businesses are worried about a collapse in the talks that could see tariffs and other impediments slapped on trade with the EU at the start of next year. Most economists think that the costs of a ‘no-deal’ outcome would fall disproportionately on the U.K.

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Cyprus’ President, Nikos Anastasiades, had an extensive phone conversation with the Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday in view of the European Council meeting that will take place on September 24.

The meeting will discuss the illegal and provocative actions of Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, Deputy Government Spokesman Panayiotis Sentonas said in a written statement.

(CNA)