EU Nations to Boost Syria Humanitarian Aid, Tighten Sanctions
February 25, 2012, 1:10 PM ESTBy Jonathan Stearns
Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- European Union governments plan to bolster humanitarian aid to Syria while tightening sanctions on the country, an EU official said.
EU foreign ministers will consider options for delivering relief to the Syrian population when they meet Feb. 27 to toughen economic penalties against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the official told reporters today in Brussels on the condition of anonymity.
The 27-nation EU is moving toward stiffer sanctions on Syria because of the government’s continued violent crackdown on civilian opponents. The new European measures, which build on an oil embargo approved last September, are due to include a freeze on the Syrian central bank’s assets and a ban on imports of precious metals from the country.
A previous EU plan to ban imports of phosphates from Syria has been dropped because the measure didn’t get support from all member nations, the official said. On the other hand, EU governments are willing to include a ban on Syrian cargo-only flights to the bloc among the new measures, according to the official.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at jstearns2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Clapham at aclapham@bloomberg.net
