EU Lifts Select Sanctions on Syria to Support Democratic Transition

The European Union has announced the lifting of select sanctions on Syria, effective immediately, in a bid to encourage democratic development during the country’s ongoing political transition, Al Jazeera reports.

The move involves suspending restrictions on oil, gas, and electricity, as well as sanctions on the transport sector, including aviation. The EU has cautioned, however, that this decision could be reversed if Syria’s interim leadership fails to implement expected reforms.

In addition, the EU has reinstated the possibility of funding and providing certain economic resources to five banks. Restrictions on the export of luxury goods to Syria for personal use will also be eased.

The EU maintains a broad range of sanctions on entire economic sectors and individuals in Syria, imposed during the rule of ousted President Bashar al-Assad. Syria’s new leadership has been urging Western powers to ease these restrictions to aid the country’s recovery from years of despotic rule and civil war.

The EU said in a statement that its foreign ministers decided to suspend select sanctions to “support an inclusive political transition in Syria, and its swift economic recovery, reconstruction, and stabilisation.”

The bloc emphasized that sanctions could be quickly reimposed should Syria’s interim rulers deviate from the desired path.

Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) armed group, was appointed interim president last month following a meeting of most of the country’s former rebel factions that overthrew al-Assad after five decades of his family’s rule.

Al-Sharaa has engaged with regional and international leaders to establish ties and spearhead a reconstruction campaign following the devastating war that has left parts of Syria under foreign occupation.

Syria’s new authorities are set to hold a national dialogue conference starting on Tuesday to chart a new course for the nation. This conference is a key pledge of the new government to develop a constitutional framework, an economic roadmap, and a plan for institutional reform, as well as to seek the lifting of US sanctions.

The new government, promised to be formed by next month, is expected to incorporate ideas and proposals from the conference.

Geir Pedersen, United Nations special envoy for Syria, suggested that the formation of a “new inclusive government” by March 1 could influence whether further Western sanctions are lifted.