Eight EU member states call for Syria policy reset

4 months ago 29

A group of eight member states has called on the EU to “review and assess” its approach to Syria ahead of a broader discussion on the situation in the Middle East between European Union foreign ministers on Monday (22 July).

“Our goal is a more active, outcome-driven, and operational Syria policy,” foreign ministers of Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Slovakia and Slovenia wrote in a letter, seen by Euractiv, to the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell.

“This would allow us to increase our political leverage [and] the effectiveness of our humanitarian assistance,” they add.

Thirteen years into Syria’s conflict, President Bashar al-Assad still holds power over many parts of the country, helped by Russia’s military presence and Iran’s Shi’ite militias.

The EU has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on the Assad regime and severed official relations with Damascus.

In the letter, they proposed ten areas that should be discussed “openly and without prejudice”, outlined in a separate non-paper.

They also pitched the creation of an EU-Syria envoy, who would be tasked with re-engaging the Syrian ambassador to Brussels and liaising with both Syrian and regional actors.

Other ten areas include a strategic exchange with Arab partners, the further development of the EU’s early recovery approach, dealing with the unintended negative effects of EU sanctions, and creating conditions for the return of migrants to Syria.

“After 13 years of war, we have to admit that our Syria policy has not aged well,” Austria’s Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said.

“Bitter as it is, with the help of Iran and Russia, the Assad regime remains firmly in the saddle, the Syrian opposition is fragmented or in exile altogether – the European Union cannot turn a blind eye to this reality any longer,” Schallenberg added.

But despite the push, EU officials say it remains unlikely the bloc would start easing pressure on the Assad regime due to large-scale human rights abuses and war crimes.

[Edited by Alice Taylor]