Sanctions show EU divisions
Britain and France had hoped to get sanctions against the president himself, but that move was opposed by Germany and Spain. The failure underlined divisions in the EU over the effectiveness of an embargo in restraining his government's actions.
Included in the sanctions was Rami Makhlouf, a cousin of Mr Assad, who owns Syria's largest mobile phone company, Syriatel, and several large firms in the construction and oil sectors.
The list included the president's brother, Maher al-Assad, who commands Syria's Republican Guard.