Reports: EU Reaches Initial Deal to Lift Economic Sanctions on Syria

Date: 20 May 2025 - 22:13

News ID: ۱۳۹۷۶۱

BRUSSELS (Dispatches) –
European Union countries have given a green light to lifting economic sanctions on Syria in a bid to help the war-torn country recover, according to diplomats speaking to news agencies.
Ambassadors from the EU’s 27 member states struck a preliminary agreement for the move, which should be formally unveiled by foreign ministers meeting in Brussels later, diplomats said, noting that the final decision is up to ministers.
This follows an announcement by the United States last week that it is lifting sanctions on Damascus.
Reporting from the EU headquarters, Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra described the reported agreement to lift the sanctions as a “really significant” development.
“It’s first of all an acknowledgement that the EU recognizes… there need to be more financial transactions to pave the way for the creation of financial stability and improve the living standards of the people in Syria,” he said.
Sanctions were levied during in 2012 and 2013 and concern the transport, energy and the banking sectors, Ahelbarra said.
The country’s new rulers have urged the West to ease the restrictions to help Syria recover.
EU diplomats told the AFP news agency the agreement should see sanctions cutting Syrian banks off from the global system and freezing central bank assets lifted.
But diplomats said the bloc was intending to impose new individual sanctions on those responsible for stirring ethnic tensions, following deadly attacks targeting the Alawite minority.
Other measures targeting the Bashar al-Assad government and prohibiting the sale of weapons or equipment that could be used to repress civilians were set to remain in place.
The latest move from the EU comes after its first step in February, suspending some sanctions on key Syrian economic sectors.
Officials said those measures could be reimposed if Syria’s new rulers break promises to respect the rights of minorities and move towards democracy.