EU to impose further sanctions on Syria

Damascus, Dec 2 (ANI): The European Union (EU) has decided to impose further restrictive sanctions against Syria "in light of the continued repression" in the country.

These new measures are related to the energy, financial, banking and trade sectors and include the listing of additional individuals and entities "that are involved in the violence or directly supporting the regime," a meeting of EU foreign ministers decided, Xinhua reports.

"As soon as President (Bashar al-) Assad steps aside and a genuine democratic transition begins, the EU is ready to develop a new and ambitious partnership with Syria."

Since the EU firstly imposed restrictive measures against Syria on May 9, altogether 74 individuals and 19 entities were placed on the EU sanction list.

In addition, the EU prohibited disbursements by the European Investment Bank (EIB) in connection with existing loan agreements between Syria and the bank.

It also stopped the continuation of EIB technical assistance contracts for sovereign projects in Syria. The investment in Syrian oil sectors and import of Syrian oil were also banned by the EU. The bloc also banned the delivery of Syrian-denominated bank notes and coinage produced in the EU to the Syrian Central Bank. (ANI)