THE governing ZANU PF party has welcomed the move by the European Union (EU) to remove four remaining individuals from its sanctions list as a sign of thawing relations between Harare and the EU bloc.The four individuals removed from the list are Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Minister Perence Shiri, Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander, General Valerio Sibanda and former first lady Grace Mugabe.However, ZANU PF urged the EU to remove the arms embargo on Zimbabwe and asset freeze on the Zimbabwe Defence Industries which were extended for another year.In an interview with the ZANU PF Information portal, Party Secretary for Administration Cde Obert Mpofu said the EU had initially imposed the illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe at the behest of Britain.“The EU has always been positive in handling the Zimbabwe position but unfortunately fell into the British trap. The British had a bilateral dispute with us owing to the Land reform. However with the Brexit, the EU have become objective. We are not surprised by the removal of our colleagues as they don’t deserve to be on any embargo.We hope they will remove their embargo on Zimbabwe Defence Industries as it is unnecessary to maintain sanctions as they manufacture weapons that are used by our army and are not a threat to the EU or any other country”Cde Mpofu said the removal of the sanctions was testimony to the efforts by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to reengage with the international community. He said the easing of sanctions was an opportunity for Zimbabwe and the EU bloc to revive economic relations.Meanwhile the minister for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Cde Sibusiso Moyo said the easing of illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe was testimony of progress having been made in respect of the reform agenda.He said the remaining sanctions must be removed to enable the full implementation of the reform agenda.“We view this development as an acknowledgement of progress made in terms of the broad reform agenda we have set ourselves, and to which we are fully committed. That reform agenda is a process rather than an event and it will take time to complete.We maintain that these and other sanctions imposed against Zimbabwe are unjustified and outdated, that they actually hinder our reform trajectory, and that all such measures should be removed, especially at a time when Government is confronted by the daunting consequences of natural disasters and devastating drought”