EU reaches initial deal to lift economic sanctions on Syria: Reports
- European Union countries agreed on 20 May 2025 to lift all economic sanctions on Syria after a preliminary deal by diplomats from the 27 member states.
- This decision followed the ouster of Bashar al-Assad and new Syrian leadership's call for easing sanctions to support recovery after years of conflict.
- The EU previously removed select sanctions on oil, gas, and electricity in February as part of the gradual easing process linked to Syria’s political changes.
- Diplomats indicated the full lifting aims to aid Syria’s recovery, with formal confirmation expected at a foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Tuesday.
- The United States also lifted sanctions last week, underscoring an international move to support Syria’s reconstruction and reintegration into the global economy.
181 Articles
181 Articles
Whether refugees from Europe return to Syria also depends on the economic development in the destroyed country. After the lifting of Western sanctions, the people are full of hope. However, dangers lurk everywhere in the country, as is shown on the ground.
Syria’s captagon industry continues to flourish despite new regime crackdowns
After toppling Bashar al Assad in December, Syria’s new leaders pledged to crack down on the captagon trade, which had generated billions of dollars for the Assad regime. However, subsequent efforts have failed to significantly curb the production and trafficking of the illicit stimulant.
Twelve years after the breakup with the Syrian regime, the kingdom announces the reopening of its embassy in Damascus. A symbolic gesture that is part of a strategic repositioning aimed at rebalancing the dynamics of the Arab world, in particular against Algeria, its historical rival.
For Swiss and Syrian economist Joseph Daher, the lifting of sanctions against Syria is first and foremost a political gesture whose social and economic consequences are still uncertain.
The Syrian pound has recovered on the black market, but the road to economic recovery is still long.
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