Syria

Bilateral trade and trade relations between the European Union and Syria have been substantially impacted by human rights and international humanitarian law violations committed by the government of Bashar al-Assad.

Prior to 2011, the EU was one of Syria's main trading partners, with bilateral trade peaking at over €7 billion in 2010. In response to the Assad regime's brutal repression of peaceful demonstrations in 2011, and to its widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, the EU adopted autonomous restrictive measures against Syria, including an oil embargo, trade restrictions, and the freezing of certain Syrian assets. Trade of food, medical equipment or medicines is exempt from EU sanctions. 

More information on sanctions is available here.

On 8 December 2024, the Assad regime collapsed. In the critical transitional period in Syria, the EU stands with the Syrian people and is ready to step up its engagement to support an inclusive transition, address humanitarian needs, and help efforts towards economic recovery. In this context, the EU reached a political agreement in February 2025 to begin easing sanctions on Syria in a gradual manner, while ensuring reversibility. The EU decided to suspend a number of restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria, aiming to facilitate engagement with Syria, its people, and businesses, in key areas such as energy and transport, and to facilitate financial and banking transactions associated with such sectors and those needed for humanitarian and reconstruction purposes.  

Trade picture

• With the EU implementing restrictive measures against Syria since 2011, bilateral trade volumes have decreased substantially over the years since - and have primarily comprised humanitarian aid, rather than commercial transactions. In 2024, total trade in goods between the EU and Syria amounted to €368 million.
• The EU’s imports from Syria were worth €103 million in 2023.
• The EU’s exports to Syria amounted to €265 million in 2023. 

The EU and Syria

Until 2011, bilateral EU-Syria relations were governed by a Cooperation Agreement signed in 1977. Syria and the EU had also negotiated a new Association Agreement to replace the Cooperation Agreement and to establish a new, closer relationship within the context of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership launched by the 1995 Barcelona Declaration.  

The Association Agreement was initialled on 14 December 2008 but was never signed, due to concerns over the regime’s human rights record. The Cooperation Agreement was partially suspended in 2011 due to the critical situation in the country at the time. The partial suspension concerns the application of the Cooperation Agreement for certain products, in particular petrol products and precious metal and stones. 

Syria in the Southern Neighbourhood

Syria is one of the countries in the EU’s so-called Southern Neighbourhood under the European Neighbourhood Policy (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine*, Syria and Tunisia). However, Syria (like Libya) does not have an Association Agreement with the EU.

The EU established a privileged partnership with the Eastern and Southern shores of the Mediterranean back in 1995 with the launch of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership at the Barcelona Conference, aiming to establish an area of peace, stability and economic prosperity that upholds democratic values and human rights.

However, after peaceful protests were brutally repressed leading to the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in 2011, the EU suspended its cooperation with the Syrian government under the European Neighbourhood Policy framework.

More information on the Southern Neighbourhood

Trading with Syria

• Importing into the EU from Syria
  • EU trade defence measures on imports from Syria
• Exporting from the EU to Syria
  • Trade defence measures in force in Syria
• Trade relations are part of the EU's overall political and economic relations with Syria
• Syria is a member of the World Trade Organization
• The EU’s presence on the ground in Syria is limited **

*This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue.

**The EU Delegation to Syria has scaled down its activities in the host country. The Delegation staff operates from Brussels, Beirut and Amman, visiting Damascus on a regular basis.