LONDON: The EU removed sanctions against seven Syrian government entities on Monday, including the defense and interior ministries.
The move will “support the strengthening of the EU’s engagement with Syria,” the European Council said.
The council also said that it was extending sanctions targeting individuals and entities linked to the former regime of Bashar Assad until June 2027.
The EU first installed the measures in 2011 in response to Assad’s brutal crackdown on the civilian population during the Arab Spring protests, which ignited a 14-year civil war.
Assad was finally defeated at the end of 2024, and a new government under President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, the leader of the military alliance that swept him from power, took over.
In response, the EU removed all sanctions against Syria in May 2025, apart from those related to the Assad regime and those based on security grounds.
Syria’s foreign ministry welcomed the EU’s steps on Monday, saying that it would “support recovery and reconstruction efforts and enhance the ability of official institutions to fulfill their duties in serving citizens and consolidating security and stability.”
Soon after taking power, Al-Sharaa moved to end Syria’s international isolation and breathe life into the country’s collapsing economy.
His efforts were rewarded with commitments from the US to ease financial restrictions and support from other Arab countries.
The EU said that its changes to the financial measures against Syria came after an annual review of the sanctions.
The bloc said that the measures on Assad-regime individuals and entities remained in place because “networks linked to the former Assad regime continue to retain influence and pose a risk of undermining the transition process and hindering efforts toward national reconciliation and accountability.”
In another sign of improved ties with Europe, the EU last week agreed to reinstate a trade cooperation agreement with Syria that was also suspended amid Assad’s 2011 crackdown.
