EU Court rejected Grodno Azot’s request to lift sanctions
February 21, 2024
The Court of the European Union rejected the claim of OJSC Grodno Azot and its subsidiary Khimvolokno, which demanded the lifting of EU sanctions. The EU Council was correct in its assessment of the important and strategic position of OJSC Grodno Azot in the Belarusian economy, its status as a state-owned company, as well as the fact that Grodno Azot supports the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, representing a source of significant income, said the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg on Wednesday 21 February.
Candidate companies are sources of income for the Lukashenko regime
The court ruling notes that the applicants recognize the payment of dividends by Grodno Azot to the Belarusian state, which is almost its only beneficiary. In particular, according to documents available to the court, in 2018 the Belarusian budget received dividends in the amount of 8.5 million Belarusian rubles, in 2019 – 34.2 million rubles, in 2020 – 6.8 million rubles. Therefore, the EU Council was not mistaken in assessing the fact that these companies represent a “significant source of revenue” for the Lukashenko regime, the judges said.
Therefore, the EU Court of Justice concluded that the sanctions against Belarusian companies were legally imposed and upheld them. The Belarusian companies filed the lawsuit on March 2, 2022.
OJSC Grodno Azot and its subsidiary Khimvolokno were included in the fifth EU sanctions package against Belarus in December 2021. The sanctions list then included 17 natural persons and 11 legal entities, including representatives of the command of the Belarusian border troops, officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the judicial system, the state air carrier Belavia, companies in the tourism and hotel sector, as well as the production association Belorusneft.
Source: DW
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