Сomment of CdA of Belarus in Belgium to news agency TASS on sanctions “overcompliance” of Visa payment system

Even European officials are no longer guided by illegal EU sanctions, which leads to the spread of the phenomenon of “overcompliance”, an example of which was the disconnection of Visa cards from three Belarusian banks in the EU.

The Visa payment system solution is a typical example of the phenomenon of overcompliance or excessive application of sanctions. We continue to insist on the illegality of restrictive measures not approved by the UN Security Council. But even if we ignore this aspect, EU sanctions today are an absolutely confusing, opaque tool used not only against Belarus, but also against dozens of countries, which even European officials no longer understand.

The excessive use of sanctions is of particular concern, since humanitarian exemptions do not work in practice, and “sanctions” are simply becoming an inhumane, indiscriminate punitive tool of Brussels against undesirable countries.

As a result, these illegal measures are hitting ordinary citizens, violating their basic rights not only to use bank cards, but also to such basic things as the right to work, movement, food, medicines, medical care, and in some egregious documented cases, the right to life.

Earlier, three Belarusian banks reported that the Visa international payment system had banned payments on the territory of the European Economic Area with its system's cards issued by these banks. According to statements by Alfa-Bank, Belgazprombank and Belagroprombank, Visa cards issued by them stopped working in 27 EU countries, as well as in the UK, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway.

Print version