As anticipated in its press release, the EU yesterday published in the Official Journal the first legal instruments underpinning its decision to progressively suspend its sanctions against Syria: Decision 2025/406/CFSP, Council Regulation 2025/407 and Council Implementing Regulation 2025/408. The measures include the suspension of a significant number of sanctions which have been in place for over a decade, most recently contained within Council Regulation 36/2012, as summarised below. Companies considering business in Syria previously restricted…
On 17 July 2017, The European Council (the “Council”) added a further 16 persons to the list of persons targeted by EU’s Syrian sanctions regime. These persons include 8 scientists and 8 high ranking military officials, each involved in the development and use of chemical weapons against the Syrian civilian population. This decision brings the total number of persons being targeted by a travel ban and asset freeze to 255. In addition, 67 entities are…
The EU has extended its sanctions against the Syrian regime by one year, until 1 June 2018. Decision (CFSP) 2017/917, taken by the European Council on 29 May 2017, is in line with the EU approach of maintaining sanctions against the Syrian regime and its supporters as long as the repression of civilians continues. The EU currently imposes a broad range of sanctions against Syria, which includes, amongst others: an arms embargo; an oil embargo;…
The European Council has adopted sanctions against nine individuals who hold positions of responsibility in the State administration and in the chain of command of the security forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for planning, directing or committing serious human rights violations. This is in addition to the seven people on whom the EU imposed sanctions as of 12 December 2016 due to the obstruction of the electoral process and related human rights…