EU to lift economic sanctions on Syria following fall of Assad regime

The European Union (EU) announced that it will lift economic sanctions on Syria to help the country recover from war following the fall of the Assad regime.

The decision was made at a meeting among EU foreign ministers in Brussels on May 20.

The same day, EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the EU wants to “help the Syrian people rebuild a new, inclusive and peaceful Syria”.

In a press conference, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said waiving sanctions showed an “international will to support Syria” and that “the Syrian people today have a very important and historic opportunity to rebuild their country”, Al Arabiya reported.

“The plan today is to benefit from the lifting of sanctions. Anyone who wants to invest in Syria, the doors are open; anyone who wants to cooperate with Syria, there are no sanctions.”

However, sanctions imposed on those linked to the former Assad regime and to human rights violations will remain in place.

Recovery from civil war

International sanctions were levied on Syria during the Assad regime, a dynastic family rule that lasted over 50 years.

The regime targeted civilian anti-government protesters and triggered a 14-year civil war that killed over half a million people.

Last December, former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was ousted by Syrian rebels after 24 years of presidency.

EU leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, have since called for sanctions to be lifted to support war-torn Syria’s economic recovery.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said lifting sanctions would provide the Syrian government with "the capabilities it needs to serve its people and will allow the private sector in all countries of the world to work towards that."

The Guardian reported that in February, the EU had already started to lift some sanctions, including those targeting Syria’s energy and transport industries.

It also eased restrictions on four banks and an airline company to get more money flowing through the Syrian economy.

US sanctions lifted last week

The EU’s move came just a week after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to lift sanctions on Syria to give it a “chance at greatness”.

According to Al Jazeera, the impact of Trump’s statement had a near immediate effect, with the Syrian pound strengthening against the U.S. dollar by about 25 per cent.

“There’s a new government that will hopefully succeed in stabilising the country and keeping peace,” Trump said during his three-day visit to the Middle East.

U.S. sanctions on Syria began in 1979 with an arms embargo and financial restrictions, after it designated the country as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism”.

Further sanctions were imposed in later years, including a freeze on Syrian government assets held abroad and a ban on U.S. investments in Syria.

As quoted by APF News, Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa said that Trump’s move was a “historic and courageous decision” that “lays the foundation for stability in the region”.

The EU dismissed suggestions that its decision was a response to US policy.

A rocky transition

The Guardian reported that EU officials remain concerned about deadly clashes between Syrian security services and loyalists to the previous regime.

Two days of clashes in March led to the death of close to 1,500 people, including 973 civilians, according to an independent monitoring group.

In April, at least 16 people died after an attack on a security checkpoint by unknown gunmen and an attack on a Druze-majority suburb in Damascus.

The Druze community, an Arab religious minority of about 500,000 people who faced violence and persecution during the Syrian civil war, maintains a tense relationship with the Syrian government.

EU Officials said that sanctions could be reimposed if Syria’s new leaders do not fulfil their promises to respect minority rights and move towards democracy.

“We want to give the new leadership a real chance,” said German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. “But we also expect an inclusive policy within the country that includes all population groups and religious groups.”

Top image via Kaja Kallas/Facebook