Council Regulation (EU) 2025/2041 of 23 October 2025 amending Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus and the involvement of Belarus in the Russian aggression against Ukraine

‘3c The prohibitions in paragraphs 1 and 3 shall not apply to the sale, supply, transfer or export of goods falling under CN codes 2501, 2505, 2507, 2513, 2516, 2517, 2528, 2606, 6804, 6815 and 6903, as listed in Annex XVIII, that is necessary for the execution until 25 January 2026 of contracts concluded before 24 October 2025, or of ancillary contracts necessary for the execution of such contracts.

3d The prohibitions in paragraphs 1 and 3 shall not apply to the sale, supply, transfer or export of goods falling under CN codes 6902 and 6909 19, as listed in Annex XVIII, that is necessary for the execution until 25 April 2026 of contracts concluded before 24 October 2025, or of ancillary contracts necessary for the execution of such contracts.’

‘1 It shall be prohibited to provide, directly or indirectly, accounting services, auditing services, including statutory audit, bookkeeping, tax consulting and business and management consulting, or public relations services to:’

‘2 It shall be prohibited to provide, directly or indirectly, construction, architectural, engineering, integrated engineering, urban planning, engineering related scientific and technical consulting and technical testing and analysis services, legal advisory services or IT consultancy services to:’

‘3 It shall be prohibited to provide, directly or indirectly, advertising, market research or public opinion polling services to:’

‘4 It shall be prohibited to sell, supply, transfer, export, or provide, directly or indirectly, software for the management of enterprises, software for industrial design and manufacture or software with certain uses in the banking and financial sector as listed in Annex XXVI to:’

‘4a It shall be prohibited, as of 25 November 2025, to provide, directly or indirectly, commercial space-based services consisting of Earth observation or satellite navigation, artificial intelligence (AI) services consisting of access to models or to platforms for their training, fine-tuning and inference, or high-performance computing, including access to graphic processing unit accelerated computing, or quantum computing services to: (a) the Republic of Belarus, its Government, its public bodies, corporations or agencies; or (b) any natural or legal person, entity or body acting on behalf or at the direction of the Republic of Belarus, its Government, its public bodies, corporations or agencies.’

‘5 It shall be prohibited to: (a) provide technical assistance, brokering services or other services related to the services and software referred to in paragraphs 1 to 4a, directly or indirectly, to the Republic of Belarus, its Government, its public bodies, corporations or agencies or to any natural or legal person, entity or body acting on behalf or at the direction of such a legal person, entity or body; (b) provide financing or financial assistance related to the services and software referred to in paragraphs 1 to 4a, or for the provision of related technical assistance, brokering services or other services, directly or indirectly, to the Republic of Belarus, its Government, its public bodies, corporations or agencies or to any natural or legal person, entity or body acting on behalf or at the direction of such a legal person, entity or body; or (c) sell, license or transfer in any other way intellectual property rights or trade secrets as well as grant rights to access or re-use any material or information protected by means of intellectual property rights or constituting trade secrets related to the software referred to in paragraph 4 and to the provision, manufacture, maintenance and use of that software, directly or indirectly, to the Republic of Belarus, its Government, its public bodies, corporations or agencies or to any natural or legal person, entity or body acting on behalf or at the direction of such a legal person, entity or body.’

‘5a A prior authorisation shall be required for the provision, directly or indirectly, of any service not covered by paragraphs 1, 2, 3 or 4a, to the Republic of Belarus, its Government, its public bodies, corporations or agencies. The competent authorities may authorise, based on a specific and case-by-case assessment, the provision of such services, under such conditions as they deem appropriate, after having determined that this is consistent with the objectives of this Regulation.’

‘10 The prohibitions in paragraphs 2 and 4 and the prohibitions related to commercial space-based services in paragraph 4a shall not apply to the provision of services or software necessary for public health emergencies, the urgent prevention or mitigation of an event likely to have a serious and significant impact on human health and safety or the environment, or as a response to natural disasters.’

‘10a The prohibitions in paragraph 4 shall not apply to the provision of software with certain uses in the banking and financial sector as listed in Annex XXVI that is necessary for the execution until 25 January 2026 of contracts concluded before 24 October 2025, or of ancillary contracts necessary for the execution of such contracts.

10b Paragraph 5a shall not apply to the execution until 1 January 2026 of contracts concluded before 24 October 2025, or ancillary contracts necessary for the execution of such a contract.’

‘12 By way of derogation from the prohibitions related to software in paragraph 4 and from the prohibitions related to the provision of AI services and high-performance computing or quantum computing services in paragraph 4a, the competent authorities may authorise the provision of software and services referred to therein, under such conditions as they deem appropriate, after having determined that the software or services are strictly necessary for the contribution of Belarusian nationals to international open-source projects.’

‘13 By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 to 5, the competent authorities may authorise the services and software referred to therein, under such conditions as they deem appropriate, after having determined that this is necessary for:’

‘15 The Member State concerned shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under paragraph 5a and paragraphs 11 to 14 within 2 weeks of the authorisation.’

‘9b With regard to the goods falling under the CN code 2901 10 00, the prohibitions in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to the execution until 25 January 2026 of contracts concluded before 24 October 2025, or of ancillary contracts necessary for the execution of such contracts.

9c As of 26 January 2026 until 25 July 2026, the prohibitions in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to the purchase or import to Hungary of goods falling under CN code 2901 10 00 originating in Belarus or exported from Belarus, provided that the goods are intended for exclusive use in Hungary.

9d Goods falling under CN code 2901 10 00 imported to Hungary following the exemption in paragraph 9c shall not be sold on to buyers located in another Member State or in a third country.’

‘4b By way of derogation from paragraph 1a, the competent authorities may authorise the transit via the territory of Belarus of goods and technology listed in Annex XIVa, after having determined that such goods or technology are necessary for: (a) medical or pharmaceutical purposes, or for humanitarian purposes, such as delivering or facilitating the delivery of assistance, including medical supplies, food, or the transfer of humanitarian workers and related assistance or for evacuations; (b) the exclusive use and under the full control of the authorising Member State and in order to fulfil its maintenance obligations in areas which are under a long-term lease agreement between that Member State and Belarus; or (c) the establishment, operation, maintenance, fuel supply and retreatment and safety of civil nuclear capabilities, and the continuation of design, construction and commissioning required for the completion of civil nuclear facilities, the supply of precursor material for the production of medical radioisotopes and similar medical applications, or critical technology for environmental radiation monitoring, as well as for civil nuclear cooperation, in particular in the field of research and development.’

‘2 It shall be prohibited to provide, directly or indirectly, the following services to Belarusian nationals or natural persons residing in Belarus, or to legal persons, entities or bodies established in Belarus: (a) crypto-asset services, as defined in Regulation (EU) 2023/1114; (b) issuing of payment instruments, acquiring of payment transactions, or payment initiation services, as defined in Directive (EU) 2015/2366; (c) issuing of electronic money, as defined in Directive 2009/110/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council .

‘3 It shall be prohibited, as from 26 March 2025, to allow Belarusian nationals or natural persons residing in Belarus to directly or indirectly own or control, or to hold any posts in the governing bodies of, a legal person, entity or body which is incorporated or constituted under the law of a Member State and is providing crypto-asset wallet, account or custody services.’

‘1 By way of derogation from Article 1u(1) and (2), the competent authorities may authorise the acceptance of such a deposit or the provision of such a service, under such conditions as they deem appropriate, after having determined that the acceptance of such a deposit or the provision of such a service is:’

‘1a The prohibition in Article 1u(2), points (b) and (c), shall not apply to the provision of personalised security credentials necessary to access an account with a credit institution or an electronic money institution established in a Member State or a country as listed in Annex Vba.

1b By way of derogation from Article 1u(2), points (b) and (c), the competent authorities may authorise the provision of such a service, under such conditions as they deem appropriate, after having determined that to do so is necessary for the exclusive use of legal persons, entities or bodies established in Belarus that are owned by, or solely or jointly controlled by, a legal person, entity or body which is incorporated or constituted under the law of a Member State or a country as listed in Annex Vba.’

‘2 The Member State concerned shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under paragraph 1, point (a), (b), (d), (e) or (f), and paragraph 1b within two weeks of the authorisation.’

‘1 By way of derogation from Article 1u(1) and (2), the competent authorities may authorise the acceptance of such a deposit or provision of such a service, under such conditions as they deem appropriate, after having determined that the acceptance of such a deposit or provision of such a service is necessary for:’

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.