February 2022, Belarus allowed Russian forces to stage part of the invasion of Ukraine from Belarusian territory. The EU imposed new sanctions on Belarus in response. Legal framework Although the European Union and Belarus signed a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) in 1995, which was intended to govern the mutual political and economic relations, this agreement was not ratified by the EU. Furthermore, the European Union has excluded Belarus from its European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), which was originally designed to establish a "ring of friends" in the Union's geographical proximity. Brussels has claimed this exclusion to be a direct response to the establishment of an authoritarian regime under President Lukashenko. However, EU–Belarus trade relations are still covered by the Union's Generalised System of Preferences and the most favoured nation (MFN) provisions of the 1989 Agreement between the EU and the Soviet Union. Belarus is amongst the few states in Europe that have not asked for membership in the European Union. Similarly, the European Union has not offered membership to Minsk. Belarus has continuously sought to further its economic and political ties with Russia, being one of the founding members of the Union State (formerly the 'Union State of Russia and Belarus'). In October 2009, a poll conducted by the independent NISEPI institute in Belarus found that 44.1 percent of the Belarusian people would vote Yes in a referendum to join the EU, compared to 26.7 percent one year earlier. Local experts are linking the swing to more pro-EU messages in Belarusian state media, Polish daily Rzeczpospolita says. On October 30, 2015, it was announced that the EU would suspend most of its sanctions against Belarus, following the freeing of the country's political prisoners in August. Following a series of mass protests that took place after a disputed presidential election in August 2020, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell announced that the EU would bring in sanctions against Belarusian officials responsible for "violence and falsification". Charles Michel, President of the European Council went further on 19 August saying the EU would soon impose sanctions on a “substantial number” of individuals responsible for violence, repression, and election fraud. See also Foreign relations of the European Union Foreign relations of Belarus List of people and organizations sanctioned in relation to human rights violations in Belarus INOGATE References External links Current analysis of Belarus-EU relations on Belarus Digest Changing