On 25 November the Minister of the Interior Maria Golubeva spoke at the opening of the annual international conference held by the Financial Intelligence Unit of Latvia (FIU Latvia). The aim of the conference is to bring together competent state institutions and high-level international experts to share information and experience on the effective implementation of EU sanctions against Belarus, its impact on the financial sector in Latvia, the Baltic States and the EU.
The current course chosen by Lukashenka’s government, compensating the loss of legitimacy by orchestrating an artificial migration crisis and thus both endangering human lives and the security of our borders, calls for more stringent sanctions, and not for a softer approach. Such hybrid operations usually also have disinformation component. One of the main narratives that we see in Belarussian state media and Kremlin controlled media is that EU sanctions for migration will be “toothless” – European Union is afraid of Lukashenka’s threat to block gas pipeline and is torn by internal discrepancies. But quite contrary, European Union is unified in its approach towards sanctions against Lukashenka regime,” said minister Golubeva at the opening of the event.
Participation in the conference is by invitation only. The main conclusions and a summary of the conference will be published after the event.
Prepared by:
Advisor to the Minister of the Interior in the matters of strategic communication Linda Curika