European Union foreign ministers agreed to push ahead with a new round of sanctions on Belarus including on Belarusian companies, in response to state repression of pro-democracy protests, the EU’s top diplomat said, writes Reuters.

The EU has already imposed travel bans and asset freezes on almost 50 Belarusian officials in protest over an Aug. 9 presidential election the West says was rigged and over President Alexander Lukashenko’s violent crackdown on opponents.

The new sanctions are expected to target more senior officials and also entities that finance Lukashenko and his government, Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, told a news conference.

“One day, we will exhaust the number of people that could be sanctioned. And now we have to go to more sensitive issues, which is sanctioning firms, which will affect the developing of the normal economic activity”, - Borrell said.

He added that it was up to EU governments to propose companies to target and did not give any examples.