On Monday 14 April, at the end of a meeting of European foreign affairs ministers in Luxembourg, the High Representative of the Union, Kaja Kallas, said that “we have not seen many steps from the new (Syrian) leadership”.
The implementation of measures is a condition for the EU to continue easing sanctions. “It is clear, that in order to reconstruct Syria, they need access to services”, said Ms Kallas.
Taking the view that Syria’s future was still “very fragile, but still hopeful”, the ministers agreed to assess what had been done so far and to work on new steps, “keeping in mind the conditionalities, the red lines that we will put, or the conditions that we really want to see”.
According to one diplomat, the Member States are divided on the attitude to adopt. Some want to see all sanctions lifted, while others are more reticent and prefer a gradual lifting of sanctions. On 24 February, the EU lifted sectoral measures in the energy and transport sectors (see EUROPE 13586/5). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)