On Monday 27 January, the EU foreign affairs ministers agreed on the principle of gradually easing sanctions against Syria.
“EU foreign ministers have just agreed on a roadmap to ease EU sanctions against Syria”, announced the High Representative of the Union, Kaja Kallas, without giving any details. She explained that the lifting of sanctions would begin with those “that are most detrimental to the country’s development”.
According to the Spanish minister, José Manuel Albares, these are the restrictive measures affecting reconstruction and humanitarian aid.
On his arrival at the EU Council, his French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, announced that the ministers will decide “to suspend certain sanctions which apply to the energy sector, transport or financial institutions and which are currently hindering the economic stabilisation of the country and the start of the reconstruction process”.
If there is political agreement on lifting restrictive measures, it is not yet clear which measures will be affected. According to one source, energy, transport and the banking sector are possible areas of work for the EU Council’s working groups.
But there is no question of giving the new Syrian leaders a blank check. “While we aim to move fast, the lifting of sanctions can be reversed if wrong steps are taken”, warned Ms Kallas. These measures will reportedly be subject to a reversibility mechanism. “The suspension must be matched by a political transition involving all Syrians, as well as measures to guarantee security and the relentless fight against all forms of terrorism, against Daesh, and the detection, control and destruction of chemical weapons”, said Mr Barrot.
Both the Irish minister, Simon Harris, and his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Schallenberg, stressed the importance of engaging with the new authorities. “We must not make the mistake, as we did in Afghanistan, of setting ourselves preconditions that are in reality insurmountable. The bottom line is that no EU state can talk to the Taliban. Everyone else is doing it, except us”, regretted the Austrian.
On 13 February, Paris will also host the third Aqaba meeting, bringing together Syria’s international partners. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)