The European Union has suspended a large part of the sanctions against Syria. About two and a half months after the fall of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad, EU foreign ministers unanimously approved a decision on Monday to suspend the sanctions imposed on the energy and transport sectors and on financial institutions.

The EU aims to facilitate engagement with Syria, its people, and businesses, in key areas of energy and transport, as well as to facilitate financial and banking transactions associated with such sectors and those needed for humanitarian and reconstruction purposes, according to a statement by the Council representing the member states:

In particular, the Council has decided to:

- suspend sectoral measures in the energy (including oil, gas and electricity) and transport sectors

- remove five entities (Industrial Bank, Popular Credit Bank, Saving Bank, Agricultural Cooperative Bank, and Syrian Arab Airlines) from the list of those subject to the freezing of funds and economic resources, as well as to allow making funds and economic resources available to the Syrian Central bank

- introduce certain exemptions to the prohibition of establishing banking relations between Syrian banks and financial institutions within the territories of the member states, to allow transactions associated to the energy and transport sectors as well as transactions needed for humanitarian and reconstruction purposes

- extend indefinitely the application of the existing humanitarian exemption

- introduce an exemption for personal use to export prohibitions of luxury goods to Syria

Personal sanctions against the Assad family and those close to the former ruler will not be suspended, however. The arms embargo against Syria and the sanctions against chemical weapons and drug trafficking will also remain in place. According to their joint statement, the foreign ministers want to examine the lifting of further economic sanctions. If the political climate in Syria deteriorates, however, the EU sanctions could be automatically reimposed.

Withdrawal in the event of “wrong decisions”

The gradual lifting of sanctions had already been announced by EU High Representative Kaja Kallas at the end of January. At the time, she said that a plan was in place to begin with measures that were really necessary to rebuild the country. However, she warned that this step could be “reversed” if the new rulers in Damascus made the “wrong decisions” and the situation in Syria deteriorated again.

UN: It will take 50 years for Syria to regain economic strength

The sanctions against Syria were imposed against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, which the EU held “responsible for the violent repression of the Syrian civilian population”. The fall of the former government marks “the beginning of a new era of hope for the Syrian people,” according to Brussels. After Assad was ousted in December 2024, Ahmed al-Sharaa, head of the al-Qaeda-linked jihadist militia “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” (HTS), had himself appointed interim president at the end of January. The United Nations (UN) said on Thursday that at current growth rates, it would take the Syrian economy more than 50 years to return to its pre-2011 war level.