BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union said on Tuesday it was lifting its freeze on financial support to Burundi, noting a more open political climate and the return of refugees in the central African country under new President Evariste Ndayishimiye.
The decision, which opens the way for the bloc to restart financing to Burundi's state budget, follows a similar decision by the United States last year.
"The Council decided today to repeal its decision taken in 2016, which imposed on Burundi measures such as the suspension of financial support and disbursements of funds directly to the Burundian administration or institutions," the EU's 27 governments said in a statement.
"The 2016 measures included budgetary support. With the repeal, the EU will therefore be able to restart this kind of cooperation with Burundi," the statement said.
The EU said the decision was based on more peaceful politics in the country, noting general elections of May 2020 that "opened a new window of hope for the population of Burundi."
The sanctions had followed what the EU and the United States said were serious human rights violations under the presidency of Pierre Nkurunziza, who died in 2020. President Ndayishimiye, who won a presidential election in the same year, has marked a shift away from the repressive stance of his late predecessor.