THE EUROPEAN UNION has agreed to lift all their remaining economic sanctions on Syria in a bid to help the war-torn country recover after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.

“Today, we took the decision to lift our economic sanctions on Syria,” the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas posted on social media after a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Brussels.

“We want to help the Syrian people rebuild a new, inclusive and peaceful Syria,” she said.

The move from the EU comes after US President Donald Trump announced last week that Washington was lifting its sanctions against Syria.

Syria’s new rulers have been clamouring for relief from the crushing international punishment imposed after Assad’s crackdown on opponents spiralled into civil war.

EU diplomats said the agreement should see the lifting of sanctions cutting Syrian banks off from the global system and freezing central bank assets.

But diplomats said the bloc intended to impose new individual sanctions on those responsible for stirring ethnic tensions, following deadly attacks targeting the Alawite minority.

Other measures targeting the Assad regime and prohibiting the sale of weapons or equipment that could be used to repress civilians are set to remain in place.

Syria’s foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani said after the EU decision that the lifting of the economic sanctions showed an “international will” to support Damascus.

Shaibani added that “the Syrian people today have a very important and historic opportunity to rebuild their country”.

The latest move from the EU comes after it took a first step in February of suspending some sanctions on key Syrian economic sectors.

Officials said those measures could be reimposed if Syria’s new leaders break promises to respect the rights of minorities and move towards democracy.

During his visit to Paris earlier this month, Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa said there was no justification for maintaining European sanctions imposed against the Assad government.

“These sanctions were imposed on the previous regime because of the crimes it committed, and this regime is gone,” Sharaa said in a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.

“With the removal of the regime, these sanctions should be removed as well, and there is no justification for keeping the sanctions,” he added.

Trump met Sharaa, a former militant who fought against US forces in Iraq and had a $10m US bounty on his head until December 2024, in Saudi Arabia last week – the first meeting between the leaders of the US and Syria in 25 years.

Following the half hour meeting, Trump described Sharaa as “young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter”.

He said he thought Sharaa had a “real shot at holding [Syria] together” and that the Syrian president had agreed to eventually join the Abraham accords, which would normalise Syrian ties with Israel.

The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco signed the US-brokered accords in 2020.

© AFP 2025