EU could begin lifting Myanmar sanctions in February

(BRUSSELS) - The European Union is mulling whether to begin lifting sanctions against Myanmar as soon as February to encourage signs of reform after decades of outright military rule, EU diplomats said Wednesday.

Aid for the southeast Asian nation is also under consideration, as well as a visit soon by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, her spokesman Michael Mann told AFP.

"In the light of developments in the country, we have launched a general review of our policies," he added.

The 27-nation bloc's response to a string of conciliatory gestures by the nominally civilian government in Myanmar is to be announced after talks between EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.

The ministers are expected to announce willingness "to consider initial steps in February" on a start in lifting the sanctions, which otherwise come up for an annual review in mid-April, an EU diplomat said.

"Some countries want to give a sign of encouragement before April elections" which will see a historic bid for parliament by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the source said on condition of anonymity.

In Paris, the foreign ministry said Britain and France had agreed to call for "a gradual revision of European sanctions" and would propose at Monday's talks "the first measures in the very short term".

But Britain's William Hague and French counterpart Alain Juppe also agreed in a phone conversation Tuesday that the EU must remain vigilant, with the democratic standards of partial legislative elections April 1 impacting the "new approach".

European states last year extended by 12 months a set of trade and financial sanctions despite Suu Kyi's release in November 2010, but lifted travel bans and an assets freeze on a third of the cabinet, including the foreign minister.

In exchange for an end to all sanctions, the EU demanded Myanmar release all political prisoners and launch a dialogue with the opposition.

Since coming to office, the new military-backed government dominated by former generals has released hundreds of political prisoners and made other reformist moves, including dialogue with the opposition and pursuing peace deals with ethnic minority rebels.

The moves have sparked intense debate worldwide on potential policy change and in Brussels intensive discussions have been under way all week to overcome "differences of opinion and decide how to encourage Myanmar" ahead of Monday's ministerial talks, a source said.

Britain and some Nordic nations favoured ensuring the April by-elections were fair and free while other European countries, notably France and Germany, favoured quick action to encourage the reform process.

"There are steps before you lift sanctions," said one diplomat on condition of anonymity. "Encouraging measures can be a first step, and then you lift sanctions."

Earlier this month, Hague, the first British foreign minister to visit Myanmar in over half a century, called for "much more" work to be done before sanctions could be lifted.

It is "very important that we do not relax the pressures prematurely", he said.

This week, French foreign minister Juppe said in Myanmar that he was confident President Thein Sein was a reformer.

"It's a certainty. It's enough to look at what he has done in the past few months," he said, describing the president as a "wise man, completely determined".

Should differences between EU nations persist, a decision to lift even very few sanctions in February could be strained as this would require unanimity.

In April a unanimous vote would be required to maintain the sanctions.

Ministers meanwhile are expected to agree to offer more development aid and other financial measures to bolster the reform process.

In January, the EU announced it would open an office in Myanmar's main city Yangon to manage aid programmes and play a "political role".