The European Union said Monday it has removed 21 loyalists of Zimbabwe’s president from a sanctions list of people facing travel and banking bans.
The EU said another six cabinet ministers from President Robert Mugabe’s party are also now allowed to travel to Europe.
It said the decision to remove those restrictions was a result of a “step forward” in finalizing a draft constitution which is set to go voted on in a national referendum on March 16.
The draft constitution “adds further momentum to the reform process and paves way for the holding of peaceful, transparent and credible elections later this year,” said the EU statement.
Those freed to travel and do business in Europe include former cabinet ministers, officials and one company linked to Mugabe’s party.
Another 101 individuals and companies remain on the banned list.
The sanctions were imposed on Mugabe’s party to protest human rights violations over the past decade of political turmoil and economic meltdown.
The EU decision was made at a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers and the announcement was made in a statement released simultaneously in Harare and Brussels and read out in Zimbabwe by EU chief of delegation Aldo Dell’Ariccia.
Agencies
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