The holdup comes as a result of a rift in Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party, center-left coalition. The other two parties are the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats.
Until Friday afternoon, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was still unable to say whether Berlin would support the package. At a press conference, Baerbock openly called for more sanctions on Belarus.
“We must take stronger action against the circumvention of sanctions that we have seen in recent months,” said Baerbock, whose Greens support stronger sanctions. “And that applies above all to Belarus.”
One official from Germany’s foreign ministry, granted anonymity to speak candidly, expressed concern that a failure to approve new sanctions would damage Germany’s attempts to win back European trust after spending years defending its Russia-friendly policies.
Meanwhile, Berlin had also stood in the way of closing a loophole that would allow high-end goods, including luxury cars, to transit from Belarus to Russia, forcing Belgium to launch separate talks in a bid to accelerate a deal.
The European Commission could not confirm whether it was engaging in negotiations, while the German Chancellery did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.
Additional reporting by Barbara Moens please.
