EU to Syrian regime: No more caviar, cigars or expensive shoes until the violence stops

But Edward Burke, a research fellow at the CER, said the practical impact of the ban on luxury items would be "zero". "This is an existential fight for them, caviar or not ... These are guys with their backs to the wall, blood on their hands and nothing to lose. ... The EU is actually quite powerful," Burke said. "Over time, the sanctions will have an effect." In the end, he predicted, the Assad regime will be unable to sustain itself in power. He warned, though, that its fall may only ignite a new cycle of violence. "But the EU," he said, "has no plan for what happens afterwards."