European Union Live Blog

The European Union is set to slap further sanctions on Syria, targeting 18 people and freezing credits as it piles further pressure on President Bashar al-Assad's regime, diplomats said Monday.

The measures will likely be agreed at talks between the EU's foreign ministers Monday, with British Foreign Secretary William Hague stepping in saying: "It's important that the EU consider additional measures" against the Syrian regime. [AFP]

The polls in Tunisia "mark the beginning of a new era", according to Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign policy chief.

"In a climate of freedom, millions of citizens stood in line to cast their votes and decide their future in a peaceful and orderly manner," Ashton has said.

"Tunisian citizens had the opportunity, for the first time, to  choose freely their democratic representatives."

While EU observers have not yet issued an assessment, "I want to congratulate and pay tribute to the Tunisian people and their peaceful struggle for their rights and democratic aspirations," Ashton said.

The European Union agreed on Thursday to add the Commercial Bank of Syria to its list of entities sanctioned in protest against repression and human rights violations In Syria, Reuters news agency reported. 

An EU statement said it had frozen the assets of one more entity that financially supports the Syrian government, bringing

the total to 19. It said it had ensured that legitimate trade was affected as little as possible.

EU diplomats identified the latest addition as the Commercial Bank of Syria. 

"Today's decision is a direct consequence of the appalling and brutal campaign the Syrian regime is waging against its own people," Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, said in the statement. 

The European Union has agreed on an investment ban in the Syrian oil sector to put more pressure on the regime of President Bashar Assad to end his deadly crackdown on protesters.

Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign affairs chief, said on Friday that the new measure seeks to reinforce the ban on Syrian crude oil imports agreed on September 2.

Friday's additional measures also include a ban to deliver bank notes to the Syrian Central Bank and travel and visa bans on more officials linked to the regime.