EU seeks to restore trade with Damascus in bid to ensure ‘safe’ Syrian refugee returns
· EUobserverEU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica: ‘It is time to move from crisis to socio-economic recovery and reconstruction’ (Photo: EC – Audiovisual Service)
EU seeks to restore trade with Damascus in bid to ensure ‘safe’ Syrian refugee returns
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By Gaia Neiman,
Brussels
,
The EU is moving to restore trade with Syria after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, offering reconstruction aid in what is seen as part of wider efforts to speed up the return of Syrian refugees living in Europe.
The Council, representing member states, said on Monday (11 May) the move would strengthen the bilateral relations between the Brussels and Damscus.
During the Syrian civil war, the EU was the largest donor of humanitarian aid, and in addition over 1.4 million Syrians sought protection in EU countries since 2015.
The EU sought to re-establish trade following the fall al-Assad regime, lifting most remaining economic sanctions last May.
Remaining sanctions have been kept on security grounds until now.
For her part, EU commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, emphasised the need for durable growth in the country, while making a vague allusion to attracting the Syrian diaspora back to “rebuilding the country.”
“It is time to move from crisis to socio-economic recovery and reconstruction,” she said in a statement. “This engagement is about rebuilding trust, fostering resilience, and placing the aspirations of the Syrian people at the heart of their country’s future”.
Likewise, the director of international cooperation at the Syrian foreign affairs ministry, Qutaiba Kadish, urged EU countries to ensure the “impact doesn’t stop after the end of the funding,” saying the Syrian government was working to rebuild the country as well as its people’s trust.
Kadish pointed out that “we also need to provide safe return conditions,” echoing the EU commissioner’s tone with regard to the expected return of Syrian migrants.
This comes after Germany, home to the EU’s largest Syrian community at more than a million people, is pushing for returns.
“Looking ahead over the next three years … around 80 percent of Syrians currently residing in Germany are expected to return to their home country,” said German chancellor Friedrich Merz in March.
But experts argue that safe returns of Syrian citizens living in the EU cannot happen overnight, as many have already requested citizenship, are still navigating asylum procedures, or simply do not wish to return while conditions in Syria remain uncertain.
“Although the Assad regime fell over a year ago, Syrian refugees currently in the region still face no clear prospect of return, as the conditions necessary for safe and dignified repatriation are frequently absent,” wrote Hanga Horváth-Sántha, senior researcher at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, and Bianka Speidl, senior lecturer and researcher at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Hungary.
“Many live without adequate support or resources, and as time passes, their living conditions continue to deteriorate, while mounting pressure is placed on them to return to Syria,” they said.
In Germany, for example, Syrians accounted for an estimated 42 percent of the employment rate among foreign citizens in September 2024.
Safe, voluntary, dignified?
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Gaia Neiman is a junior migration and politics reporter at the EUobserver. She has previously written for Reuters, The Guardian, The Telegraph, among others.
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