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1. It shall be prohibited to directly or indirectly make or be part of any arrangement to make new loans or credit with a maturity exceeding 90 days, after 29 June 2021, to:

(a) the Republic of Belarus, its Government, its public bodies, corporations or agencies;

(b) a major credit institution established in Belarus with over 50 % public ownership, or under public control, as of 1 June 2021, as listed in Annex IX;

(c) a legal person, entity or body established outside the Union whose proprietary rights are directly or indirectly owned for more than 50 % by an entity referred to in point (a) or (b) of this paragraph; or (d) a natural or legal person, entity or body acting on behalf or at the direction of an entity referred to in point (a), (b) or (c) of this paragraph.

2. The prohibition shall not apply to loans or credits that have a specific and documented objective to provide financing for non-prohibited imports or exports of goods and non-financial services between the Union and any third State, including the expenditure for goods and services from another third State that is necessary for executing the export or import contracts.

3. The competent authority of a Member State may also grant, under such terms as it deems appropriate, an authorisation to make or be part of the loans or credits referred to in paragraph 1 if it has determined that:

(i) the activities concerned are for the purpose of providing support for the Belarusian civilian population, such as humanitarian assistance, environmental projects, and nuclear safety or the loan or credit is necessary to comply with legal or regulatory minimum reserve or similar requirements to meet solvency and liquidity criteria for financial entities in Belarus which are majority-owned by financial institutions of the Union; and (ii) the activities concerned do not entail funds or economic resources being made available, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of a person, entity or body referred to in Article 2. When applying the conditions under points (i) and (ii), the competent authority shall require adequate information as regards the use of the authorisation granted, including information concerning the purpose of, and the counterparts to, the activities concerned.

The Member State concerned shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under this Article within two weeks of the authorisation.

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