THIS WEEK: Syria and Iran, plus national strikes in Belgium and Hungary’s new PM
· EUobserverAhmed al-Shara meets EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib in Syria, in 2025. Rebuilding the shattered country will be top of the agenda on Monday
THIS WEEK: Syria and Iran, plus national strikes in Belgium and Hungary’s new PM
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By Nikolaj Nielsen,
Brussels
,
While the EU celebrated the roots of its inception some 76 years ago over the weekend, tricky questions on Syria, Donald Trump and his Middle East wars, as well as Ukraine remained unresolved.
The Saturday (9 May) Europe Day celebration came amid the inauguration of Hungary’s new prime minister Peter Magyar, ushering in a likely collective sigh of relief for the elite at the EU institutions in Brussels and various capitals elsewhere.
Yet beyond all the weekend fanfare in Budapest and Brussels, a gruelling work week kicks off on Monday (11 May) and one day ahead of a planned national strike by Belgian trade unions.
Day one starts with Syria.
Monday will see in Brussels Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, Syria’s minister of foreign affairs, along with senior figures from EU states, the G7, Arab countries and the UN. Discussions will revolve rebuilding the shattered country.
A similar event last year saw €5.8bn in pledges to help the country rebuild. Of that, €4.2bn came as grants and €1.6bn as loans. The EU pledged €2.5bn for 2025 and 2026.
While not explicitly stated, the fate of Syrian refugees is also likely to be discussed as the EU seeks to step up deportations.
Some 570,000 have already returned from Turkey last year. And another 438,000 have returned via Lebanon.
But over 112,000 have also since gone back to Lebanon, pointing to the volatility in the country.
The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, along with two European commissioners dealing with the Mediterranean and crisis will also join in the hopes of fomenting some sort of long-term partnership with Damascus.
But Syria will not be the only focus on Monday.
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Ahmed al-Shara meets EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib in Syria, in 2025. Rebuilding the shattered country will be top of the agenda on Monday
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Author Bio
Nikolaj Nielsen joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.