EU Foreign Ministers on Monday imposed new sanctions on Syria "given the Syrian regime's continued use of violence against civilians" in its repression of the opposition.
At a meeting in Brussels, they decided to freeze the assets of several Syrian government officials, to impose sanctions on the country's central bank and to ban visas for seven members of Syrian President Bashar al Assad's entourage.
They also banned the purchase of gold, precious metals and diamonds from the country, and banned Syrian cargo flights from the European Union.
"The EU will continue its policy of imposing additional measures targeting the regime, not the civilian population, as long as repression continues," a statement said.
The EU had previously imposed several rounds of sanctions on Syria, freezing the assets of 100 people and 38 organizations, and trying to cut the country’s supply of equipment for its oil and gas sectors.
Nearly 7,500 people have died in 11 months of unrest, including three journalists in the city of Homs.
The ministers also referred to the conference of Friends of Syria group which met on Friday in Tunis which called on Syrian President Assad to resign and for the creation of a UN peacekeeping force. "The European Union supports the Arab League’s initiative to end the Syrian regime's crackdown on peaceful protesters," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told a press conference after the ministerial meeting.
The EU, said, supported the appointment of former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan as Arab League envoy for Syria.
"We will continue looking at what we can do, especially sanctions and helping humanitarian organisations do their job," said Ashton.
She added that during the Tunis meeting the group discussed urgent proposals to stop the violence and alleviate the "suffering of the Syrian population" through humanitarian assistance.
"The humanitarian situation and lack of access to food and medical supplies is our most urgent and immediate concern. The army and military forces must withdraw from all besieged towns and cities and humanitarian agencies and the Arab League must be allowed unhindered access," she said.
But the international community appears divided on an eventual intervention in the conflict.
Countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Tunisia want to arm the Syrian rebels, while Britain, France and the US are more cautious, worried that such a move would give the regime cover to continue inflicting atrocities on the civilian population.
British Foreign Minister William Hague called for "a diplomatic and economic stranglehold on the Assad regime" to "choke off support for its campaign of terror". However, he has specifically ruled out arming the Syrian rebels. "We have in the EU an arms embargo on Syria, so of course we will observe that in all directions."
European Union Member States are also divided as to whether the Syrian uprising is in the spirit of the Arab spring or whether it is more of a sectarian conflict between rival ethnic groups.
EU Foreign Ministers also briefly discussed the Mideast Peace Process. "We paid tribute to the work of Jordan's King and Foreign Minister fotr bringing Israeli-Palestiniaan informal talks," said Ashton.