Tuesday, 13 December 2011 - Strasbourg
Debate
Pino Arlacchi (S&D ) - Mr President, we are starting to gain an appreciation of the effects of the sanctions aimed at crippling the efficacy of the Syrian regime. Many opposition leaders have welcomed the sanctions as a means to cut off the government’s ability to maintain its massive security apparatus, but many observers have also stressed the damage that some of the sanctions are doing to the Syrian people, with skyrocketing prices for basic foodstuffs and the rapid devaluation of the Syrian pound.
It is important to continue using sanctions. We should intensify our pressure against the selling of arms to the Syrian regime, and we should further penalise those providing military equipment or technological support. However, we should avoid impacting too much on ordinary citizens.
Finally, it is fundamental to promote the acceptance of an international role in ending the conflict in Syria. I am not talking about the acceptability of a Libya-like scenario for Syria, but of mediation undertaken by a multilateral entity like the UN, the EU, the Arab League or others. I would be glad to know what your ideas on this issue are.
