EU General Court Sustains Sanctions Listing of Belarussian Airline

The EU General Court on May 29 dismissed a suit from Belarusian Airlines AAT challenging the validity of its 2021 sanctions designation.

The court ruled that the Council of the European Union was correct when it determined the company was state controlled by the Alexander Lukashenko regime in Belarus. The council also said Lukashenko "promised that his administration would provide all possible support" to the company after the EU placed airspace restrictions on Belarusian airlines.

The court said that the Council of the EU erred in listing the airline on the grounds that it contributed to the activities of the Lukashenko regime "facilitating the illegal crossing of the external borders" of the EU, but that the council properly listed the airline for benefiting from the Lukashenko regime. The court said the council's evidence "constitutes a sufficiently detailed, precise and consistent body of evidence to" show the airline benefited from statements from Lukashenko that the government "would give all possible support to the applicant."