The European Union is preparing to reduce the sanctions it imposed on Syria over the last thirteen years. After the fall of Basahar al Assad, Western countries have resumed diplomatic contacts with the new Government, led by the armed Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), to open a new stage. As part of this opportunity for the new rulers, the high representative of the EU, Kaja Kallas, confirmed the intention to reduce sanctions after participating in a meeting in Riyadh to address the future of the country and which was also attended by foreign ministers and senior officials from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and France, as well as envoys from the United Nations and the Arab League.
“The time has come for the new Syrian leaders to realize the hope they have created through a peaceful and inclusive transition that protects all minorities. “Then we will discuss with the EU foreign ministers how to soften the sanctions,” Kallas expressed through the social network Asaad Hassan al-Shibani.
The EU countries, which have reactivated diplomatic relations with Syria, are, however, moving with caution to see the steps that the new leaders are taking, from whom they demand respect for the minorities that are part of the country and for women. . For the moment, what they receive doesn’t sound bad.
Countries such as Germany, Italy and France have shown themselves in favor of the gradual withdrawal of sanctions. “We propose a smart approach to sanctions so that the Syrian people get relief and reap quick benefits from the transition of power,” said the head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, from Riyadh. Baerbock and his French counterpart, Jean-Noel Barrot, traveled to Damascus in early January on behalf of the EU to meet with the new authorities. This week the Spanish minister, José Manuel Albares, is scheduled to do so.
Since the repression of protests by the Al Assad regime in 2011, the EU and other international allies such as the US have imposed sanctions on Syria. In total, the 27 have punished (with blocking of funds and prohibition of entry into the territory) 318 individuals and 86 entities.
The sanctions also include a ban on importing crude oil and petroleum products from Syria, a ban on investing in the Syrian oil industry and in companies engaged in the construction of new power plants for the production of electricity, and the freezing of the assets of the Syrian central bank. in the EU, restrictions on the export of equipment and technology that can be used for internal repression, as well as equipment and technology for surveillance or interception of telephone or Internet communications, prohibition of Syrian financial institutions from opening new branches or subsidiaries in the EU, among others.
The intention of the gradual lifting of the sanctions, which at the time also led to the partial breaking of the trade agreement that Spain and Ireland have now unsuccessfully requested with Israel for the massacre in Gaza, is to eliminate the punishments that economically and socially affect the country to give the new Government a chance. The proposal will be formally debated at the meeting of EU foreign ministers on January 27.
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