Article 3
1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to prevent the entry into, or transit through, their territories of persons listed in Annex I who: (a) are responsible for serious violations of human rights or the repression of civil society and democratic opposition, or whose activities otherwise seriously undermine democracy or the rule of law in Belarus, and any person associated with them; (b) benefit from or support the Lukashenka regime; (c) organise or contribute to activities by the Lukashenka regime that facilitate: (i) the illegal crossing of the external borders of the Union; or (ii) the transfer of prohibited goods and the illegal transfer of restricted goods, including hazardous goods, into the territory of a Member State; (ca) are responsible for, implementing, supporting, benefitting from, involved in or facilitating actions or policies attributable to the Republic of Belarus which undermine or threaten democracy, the rule of law, stability or security in the Union or in one or several of its Member States, in an international organisation or in a third country, or which undermine or threaten the sovereignty or independence of one or several of its Member States, or of a third country, through the following actions: (i) planning, directing, engaging in, directly or indirectly, supporting, or otherwise facilitating the use of information manipulation and interference; (ii) planning, directing, engaging in, directly or indirectly, supporting, or otherwise facilitating any actions targeted at the functioning of democratic institutions, economic activities or services of public interest, including by unauthorised entry into the territory of a Member State, including its airspace, or aimed at interfering with, damaging or destroying, including through sabotage or malicious cyber activities as part of hybrid activities, critical infrastructure; (iii) planning, directing, engaging in, directly or indirectly, supporting, or otherwise facilitating or enabling widespread or systematic actions disrupting the functioning of critical infrastructure; (cb) are natural persons supporting the persons engaged in activities referred to in point (ca); (d) form part of, support, materially or financially, or benefit from, the military and industrial complex of Belarus, including by being involved in the development, production or supply of military technology and equipment; (e) are facilitating infringements of the prohibition against circumvention of the provisions of this Decision or otherwise significantly frustrating those provisions; or (f) are natural persons associated with persons referred to in points (b), (c), (ca), (d) or (e). 2. Paragraph 1 shall not oblige a Member State to refuse its own nationals entry into its territory. 3. Paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to the cases where a Member State is bound by an obligation of international law, namely: (a) as a host country of an international intergovernmental organisation; (b) as a host country to an international conference convened by, or under the auspices of, the United Nations; (c) under a multilateral agreement conferring privileges and immunities; or (d) under the 1929 Treaty of Conciliation (Lateran pact) concluded by the Holy See (State of the Vatican City) and Italy. 4. Paragraph 3 shall be considered as applying also in cases where a Member State is host country of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). 5. The Council shall be duly informed in all cases where a Member State grants an exemption pursuant to paragraphs 3 or 4. 6. Member States may grant exemptions from the measures imposed in paragraph 1 where travel is justified on the grounds of urgent humanitarian need, or on grounds of attending intergovernmental meetings, including those promoted or hosted by the Union, or hosted by a Member State holding the Chairmanship in office of the OSCE, where a political dialogue is conducted that directly promotes democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Belarus. 7. A Member State wishing to grant exemptions referred to in paragraph 6 shall notify the Council in writing. The exemption shall be deemed to be granted unless one or more of the Council members raises an objection in writing within two working days of receiving notification of the proposed exemption. Should one or more of the Council members raise an objection, the Council, acting by a qualified majority, may decide to grant the proposed exemption. 8. In cases where pursuant to paragraphs 3, 4, 6 and 7 a Member State authorises the entry into, or transit through, its territory of any person listed in Annex I, the authorisation shall be limited to the purpose for which it is given and to the person concerned thereby.