The EU follows the United States and raises different economic penalties in Syria
From Jorge Liboreiro
AND Euronews in Spanish
Published
The European Union agreed on Tuesday to raise All the economic sanctions that still weighed on Syriahoping that this relief facilitates access to financial funds and accelerates the recovery of the country devastated by a civil war, which ended after The fall of Bashar al Assad’s dictatorship In December. “We want to help the Syrian people to reconstruct a new, supplementary and peaceful Syria. The EU has always supported the Syrians in the last 14 years and will continue to do so,” said the high external representative, Kaja Kallas, at the end of a meeting of foreign ministers.
The block decision occurs a few days later Donald Trump, During his recent tour in the Middle East, Gathered With the provisional president of Syria, Ahmed to the Sharaand announce a plan to eliminate all the sanctions imposed by the United States. “I will order the cessation of sanctions against Syria to give them a possibility of size,” Trump said in Saudi Arabia.
Trump’s sudden movement has significantly accelerated the deadlines in Brussels. The EU had approved At the end of February a first round of relief of sanctions for Syria, which included his Energy sectorfundamental to increase state revenues. But then Several restrictions have been maintained to the financial and banking sectors, Despite the repeated requests of Damascus. “There is no justification to keep them,” Shara said before a meeting with the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
Humanitarian organizations have also requested relief of economic restrictions, claiming that the measures imposed during the Assad dynasty discouraged possible investors. Foreign ministers they voted unanimously The abolition of all economic sanctions.
Upon arrival at the meeting, Kallas admitted that there were “worries” If the new government led by Al Shara goes to the “right direction” after the violent accidents in the country. The high representative who thus alludes to the alterations between The remaining current and loyal security forces in Al Assadbelonging to the minority of Chií Alauita. At Shara he had promised during his unilateral possession to respect all the country’s beliefs and minorities.
Kallas warned that the sanctions could be reintroduced if the provisional government of Al Shara found himself in his commitments of inclusion and diversity. “I think we haven’t chosen,” Kallas said when he was asked about relief of sanctions. “In reality, either we give them the opportunity to stabilize the country or do not do it, and we have something similar to what we had in Afghanistan.”
Even so, the suspension agreed on Tuesday is not a white check. The block will maintain rigid restrictions weapons, chemicals, double use goods, equipment that can be used for repression and computer programs For surveillance, as well as a vast black list of people involved in the autocracy of Al Assad, in force since the middle of the last century.
The sanctions imposed on Syria have caused the collapse of economic relations between the EU and this country. In 2023, Syria appeared as a commercial partner with blocks at 143rdwith commercial flows for a value of 396 million euros. The EU, despite this, is the Important international donor in SyriaWith almost 37,000 million euros since 2011.
