The EU will greenlight the lifting of all remaining economic sanctions against Syria on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter.
EU ambassadors reached a political agreement on the move Tuesday morning, with formal approval by the bloc’s foreign ministers expected later in the day, diplomats said.
As part of the new push, the EU would allow member states to provide funding to Syria’s ministries of defence and interior for cooperation on “reconstruction, capacity-building, counter-terrorism and migration”, according to a document seen by Reuters.
This would also include potentially lifting sanctions on Syria’s central bank.
The step is seen as another attempt to give the country a chance at economic recovery after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in January.
A partial suspension of restrictive measures earlier in February, which included the energy and transport sectors, as well as key financial institutions, was also aimed at supporting economic recovery post-Assad.
However, EU diplomats say the limited easing of sanctions so far has only provided modest relief, and most EU countries believe Syria’s new authorities should be given the benefit of the doubt.
The EU has imposed sanctions on Syria since the outbreak of the country’s civil war in 2011, targeting both individuals and entire economic sectors.
Sanctions imposed on the Bashar Al-Assad regime and individuals linked to security issues and human rights violations will remain in place.
The renewed push follows last week’s announcement by US President Donald Trump that Washington would lift its own economic sanctions on Syria.
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