Foreign ministers of the 27 European Union member states approved a fresh round of sanctions against Syria and Iran at their meeting on Thursday, Western media said.
A total of 12 Syrian individuals and 11 companies were put on the existing sanctions list in the tenth set of sanctions against Syria, designed to persuade President Bashar al-Assad to stop his violent crackdown on dissent.
The sanctions will affect a number of Syrian financial, banking and energy enterprises, as well as officials and institutions believed to be linked to the Assad regime. They will be barred from entering EU territory, and their financial assets in European countries will be frozen.
Most of them are involved in the country's financial, banking and energy activities. Diplomatic sources said the list, to be published on Friday, will include Syria's General Petroleum Corporation (GPC).
In response, Syria suspended its participation in the Union for the Mediterranean, a partnership structure that includes the 27 EU members and 16 partner countries from the Mediterranean basin. The Union was established in 2008 to join efforts in dealing with energy issues, pollution of the Mediterranean Sea, food and potable water shortages and illegal migration.
The EU also blacklisted an additional 179 Iranian officials and institutions linked to the government over Tehran's controversial nuclear program.
