European sanctions extended to new Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad

BRUSSELS — The European Union continues to impose sanctions on the Syrian regime and its allies. This time, sanctions have been extended to include incoming Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad, who will now be prohibited from entering EU territory.

The European Union imposed a package of sanctions against Syrian ministers in October 2020, including Minister of Culture Lubna Mashawi, Minister of Trade Talal al-Barazi, Minister of Education Darem Tabaa, Minister of Justice Ahmed al-Sayed, Minister of Water Resources Tammam Raad, Minister of Finance Kinan Yaghi, and Minister of Transport, Zuhair Khouzaim.

At the end of May 2020, the EU had extended the sanctions against the Syrian regime for an additional year before they expired on 1 June. The sanctions list at that time included 273 individuals who were prevented from entering EU territory and had their funds in European banks frozen. Restrictive measures have also been applied to 70 organizations in Syria, bringing the currently updated list to 280 individuals and 70 organizations.