The European Union will soon lift all its remaining economic sanctions against Syria, according to reports by AFP and Bloomberg.
EU foreign ministers are expected formally to approve the move at a May 20 meeting in Brussels, with official confirmation to follow later in the day.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s chief foreign policy officer, previously expressed hopes ministers would agree on sanctions relief for Syria.
“It is clear that we want there to be jobs and livelihoods for the [Syrian] people, so that it would be a more stable country,” said Kallas.
The EU already suspended some of its restrictions on Syria’s energy and banking sectors in February.
A May 16 announcement by US President Donald Trump that his country would lift all sanctions on Syria reportedly accelerated the EU’s decision to end all remaining restrictions.
Measures against former Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad and members of his regime will remain in place.
Trump unexpectedly declared he was lifting all sanctions against Syria during a state visit to Saudi Arabia, saying this would give Syria “a chance at greatness”.
Experts say the sanctions relief could provide the war-torn country a much-needed boost, calling it “a fundamental turning point” according to Al Jazeera.
The lifting of sanctions also comes as a success for Ahmed al-Sharaa, the former Islamist rebel commander who in December 2024 led the overthrow of the Assad regime, and has served as Syria’s president since January.
Al-Sharaa has been welcomed by world leaders, despite lingering doubts about his intentions and news of ethnically-motivated violence against Syria’s Alawite minority.
Al-Sharaa met Donald Trump in Riyadh May 14.
The week before, he met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on May 7.
Former German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock travelled to Damascus in January 2025 to meet al-Sharaa, when the new Syrian leader famously refused to shake her hand.
