EU Lifts Long-Standing Sanctions on Zimbabwe

On 17 February 2026, the European Union (EU) announced that it had decided to lift the sanctions on Zimbabwe following its annual review. The long-standing sanctions have been in place for decades based on alleged human rights abuses after the nationalization of farmland, mostly owned by White farmers.

In particular, travel bans to Zimbabwe and asset freezes of Zimbabwean citizens have been canceled. However, the EU is maintaining an arms embargo for another year until February 2027.

Last May, the EU and Zimbabwe even jointly organized the EU-Zimbabwe Business Forum 2025 (#EUZBF2025) under the #GlobalGateway. This signaled a thaw in relations and a signal that things might get back to normal soon.

It is to be recalled that the USA also scrapped its Zimbabwe Sanctions Regulations, which have been in effect since 2000. Thus, broad-based sanctions on Zimbabwe have been removed, but targeted restrictions on specific Zimbabwean nationals remain under the Global Magnitsky regime.

US President Trump also declared that the foreign policy will focus more on economic diplomacy and pay less attention to issues such as democracy and human rights. These developments are extremely positive for Zimbabwe, which had to deal mostly with China and Russia due to the Western sanctions.

Zimbabwe is rich in certain #CriticalMinerals which Western countries are scrambling to secure. Therefore, the lifting of sanctions will allow Western companies to enter the game in Zimbabwe.