BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? European Union governments are likely to impose an embargo on imports of Syrian oil by the end of next week to ratchet up pressure on President Bashar al-Assad, although new sanctions may be less stringent than those imposed by Washington, EU diplomats said on Wednesday.
A round of discussions was held in Brussels on Tuesday, diplomats said, and EU capitals raised no objections to banning Syrian crude imports, in a move similar to a decision by the United States earlier this month [ID:nL5E7JI2WR]
The new measures if approved are unlikely, however, to prevent European oil majors such as Royal Dutch Shell or Total from continuing to produce crude in Syria through their joint ventures in the country.
The bloc's 27 governments agreed last Friday to explore new sanctions against Assad in response to his five-month crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators, in which the United Nations says 2,200 civilians have been killed.
"The whole process could be completed by the end of next week if all goes according to plan," one of the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
An oil embargo would constitute a big step for the EU, because several governments have been reluctant so far to target Assad's oil industry because of concerns over potential damage to their commercial interests.
Syria produces about 385,000 barrels of oil a day and exports about 150,000 barrels per day, of which most goes to European countries, particularly the Netherlands, Italy, France and Spain.
EU adoption of any further tightening measures against Syrian industry remains uncertain. Several governments have raised objections to proposals for a ban on exports of oil-related equipment and investment in Syrian companies.
"The sanctions will target exports to deny the government of revenues, but production will likely stay unaffected," said one EU diplomat.
Others said Britain, backed by several other EU states, has raised objections to banning the sale of refined products and equipment to Syria. Further talks among EU capitals are set for Friday, and any decision will have to be unanimous.
Britain is among EU countries most heavily invested in Syria, with Anglo-Dutch Shell involved in a joint venture that is the main producing consortium in Syria. France's Total is also a significant producer in the country.
PICKING TARGETS
The EU is also debating the extent to which Syrian companies that benefit from repression, or support it, should be targeted by sanctions.
Last week, governments agreed to discuss ways to include sectors such as banking, telecommunications and energy in EU measures banning European companies from doing business with targeted firms.
For now, however, there is no agreement on new criteria that would allow the EU to broaden existing sanctions, which target specific companies in Syria with asset freezes.
Discussions have been hampered in part by concerns over how to structure the EU sanctions without risking a legal challenge by their targets.
EU capitals are also still deciding whether to include existing import contracts in the oil embargo or whether deals signed earlier should be exempt, diplomats said.
In its latest round of sanctions, the EU imposed asset freezes and visa bans on 15 Syrians on Tuesday, including senior military intelligence and police officials.
Five institutions, including military and air force intelligence agencies, were added to a list of entities that EU companies are banned from doing business with.
(Reporting by Justyna Pawlak; Editing by Rex Merrifield and Jane Baird)
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