Syria – Adoption of new sanctions by the EU Council of Foreign Ministers (April 24, 2023)

The European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council, which Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna attended yesterday, adopted new designations under the European sanctions regime against Syria established in 2011 in response to the violent crackdown against the Syrian people by the Syrian regime and its associates.

These new sanctions target 25 individuals and eight entities responsible for the trafficking of Captagon in Syria and elsewhere in the region. These individuals include members of pro-Iranian militias and those responsible for the violent repression of the Syrian people.

These latest sanctions, which were adopted in consultation with our American and British partners, particularly target the network involved in the production and export of Captagon, now one of the main revenue sources for the Syrian regime and a major threat to regional stability. They target those responsible for drug trafficking and repression in Syria, not the Syrian people.