EU lifts sanctions from Iraq

The European Union yesterday officially decided to lift most of the sanctions imposed on Iraq, in line with the recent resolution of the UN Security Council but kept several measures like freezing the assets of the toppled Iraqi President and his former regime members.

The EU 15 member states lifted sanctions concerning to selling and providing Iraq with weapons excluding those wanted by the American and British occupation forces. It also adopted certain restrictions on the exports measures of Iraqi oil and gas and the trade relating to the Iraqi heritage items.

In May this year, the UN Security Council lifted sanctions imposed on Iraq since 1990. In a statement, the European Union said it welcomes the commitment of the UN Security Council and the occupation forces to help in rebuilding Iraq and helping the Iraqi people to move towards founding an internationally recognized government.