Brussels, 23/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Union decided on Friday 23 September to reinforce its sanctions against the Bashar al-Assad regime, banning all new investment in the oil sector in Syria, thus extending the embargo on imports of Syrian oil imposed by the EU on 2 September. The EU also banned delivery to Syria of bank notes and coins.
This is the seventh raft of sanctions against the Syrian regime which stands accused of the bloody repression of the opposition movement. According to UN figures, more than 2,700 people have been killed since anti-government protests began in March of this year.
Oil. The ban on new investment in the oil sector is aimed at European companies and also Syrian firms which are active abroad. The ban is on all loans, share purchases and the creation of joint ventures with Syrian oil companies. These sanctions are expected to have an impact as Syria desperately needs new oil investment. The investment ban refers, however, only to new contracts; those already in place may continue to be honoured. French oil company Total is one of the main foreign companies operating in Syria, along with the Anglo-Dutch group Shell and CNPC of China. Syria exports 150,000 barrels of oil per day. These exports brought in €3.1 billion for Syria in 2010.
Notes and coinage. The EU also decided to ban the delivery of bank notes to the Syrian central bank. Companies in Austria, Germany and Belgium are currently printing notes for the Syrian central bank. These companies will no longer be permitted to deliver coins or bank notes to the country.
Visa ban. Two more persons and six companies (a television channel, two telecoms firms and three companies which supply the Syrian army with different kinds of equipment) will be added to the list to those targeted by European sanctions, which include an asset freeze and a travel ban.
EU High Representative Catherine Ashton said that, if the situation in Syria showed no sign of improvement, the imposition of further sanctions would be considered. “The regime's repression against the Syrian people must stop completely”, she stated. (LC/transl.rt)