European Council to Lift Economic Sanctions on Syria, EU Foreign Policy Chief Says

The European Council confirmed the move while calling on Syria’s new leadership to safeguard the rights of minority groups.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas at a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels on Dec. 16, 2024. Virginia Mayo/AP Photo

EU foreign ministers have agreed to lift economic sanctions on Syria, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said.

“We want to help the Syrian people rebuild a new, inclusive and peaceful Syria,” Kallas wrote on social media platform X after a May 20 meeting with EU foreign ministers in Brussels. “The EU has always stood by Syrians throughout the last 14 years—and will keep doing so.”

In a separate statement released the same day, the European Council confirmed the decision.

“Following the fall of the Assad regime, the EU has adopted a gradual and reversible approach in order to support Syria’s transition and economic recovery,” the council said.

“In February, the EU suspended some of its economic sanctions. In line with this approach, the EU announces the political decision to lift its economic sanctions on Syria.”

The move follows a similar decision by U.S. President Donald Trump, who made a landmark visit to Saudi Arabia on May 13–14.

During the visit, Trump announced that longstanding U.S. sanctions on Syria, whose transitional government had overthrown the country’s former regime, would be lifted.

Rights Concerns

In December 2024, the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was toppled by an offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a terrorist organization with previous ties to the al-Qaeda terrorist group.

HTS began as al-Nusra Front and was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department in 2018.

Since December 2024, Syria’s new transitional government, led by HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, has sought to consolidate its political authority.

Sharaa, who used the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, was previously the subject of a $10 million bounty by the United States. The bounty was lifted after Assad was ousted.

In recent months, post-Assad Syria has been plagued by sectarian violence, raising concerns about the transitional government’s ability to ensure the safety of minority groups.

In March, Sunni terrorists in the coastal Latakia province killed hundreds of members of Syria’s Alawite community, from which Assad’s family hailed.

The following month, scores were killed after fighting erupted in the country’s south between Sunnis and members of Syria’s Druze community.

Sharaa’s government has pledged to ensure the safety of religious minorities, saying that perpetrators of sectarian violence would be held accountable.

In its statement, the European Council said that some EU sanctions would be maintained, such as those “based on security grounds, including arms and technology that might be used for internal repression.”

A Druze woman waves to relatives fleeing sectarian violence in Damascus, Syria, on May 3, 2025. Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images

“In addition, the EU will introduce additional targeted restrictive measures against human rights violators and those fuelling instability in Syria,” it said.

The European Council said it “will continue to engage with the transitional government on the steps it pursues to fulfil the aspirations and safeguard the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all the Syrian people, without distinction.”

It also said the EU would “continue monitoring developments on the ground, including progress on accountability with regard to recent violence outbreaks.”

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul echoed these sentiments, saying the EU “wants to embark on a fresh start with Syria.”

“We are thus giving the Syrian Government a chance,” Wadephul said in a May 20 statement. “But we also expect it to pursue inclusive policies within the country which extend to all sections of the population and religious groups.”

Syria’s foreign ministry hailed the EU decision to lift sanctions.

“The step represents a pivotal moment and a beginning of a new chapter in Syrian-European relations, based on shared interests and mutual respect,” it said in remarks carried by Syria’s SANA news agency.

“The Syrian government affirms its readiness to enhance cooperation with European companies and investors and create a supportive environment for economic recovery and sustainable development.”

Reuters contributed to this report.