European Union Seeks to Quickly Complete Trade Pact With Syria, Official Says

While the United States last week imposed new economic sanctions against Syria, European Commission Vice President Loyola de Palacio said Friday that the EU wants to quickly complete a trade agreement with Damascus (see GSN, May 13).

The EU initialed an association agreement with Syria late last year, but the signing has been delayed because Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom want the agreement to include a stronger commitment to nonproliferation, according to Reuters. During talks held this weekend in Damascus, de Palacio was set to discuss integrating Syria into regional energy networks and to the EU energy market, Reuters reported.

“It is very important for us that we manage to (conclude) this association agreement with Syria,” de Palacio said Friday. “We hope that we shall soon end negotiations with Syria,” he said.

The European Union last year required countries that join trade and aid agreements to reject nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Libya, which did just that last year, may eventually be considered for such pacts (Lin Noueihed, Reuters/AlertNet, May 14)

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