The European Union maintains the hope that the overthrow of the Bashar al Asad regime loots Syria from the dramatic situation in which it is, with more than half of its population in need of humanitarian aid when it was not for the persecution that they have suffered for decades. That is why the 27 are inclined to continue softening the sanctions that weigh on the country to the expectation of how the transition occurs, but for the moment they trust the steps that the new government is taking, despite the wave of violence that has been unleashed in the country. The aid for the Donor Conference for Exercises of 2025 and 2026 has also increased slightly.
“Syria is a new country. Today the dreams and aspirations of the Syrian people are no longer suspended. For the first time in decades, Syria’s hope can come true, ”said the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, which has announced that 2.5 billion will be allocated to that country compared to the 2,120 million that were delivered for the period 2024-2025. The words of the German have occurred before the presence of the Foreign Minister of that country, Asaad al Shaibani, who has participated for the first time in that event in the Belgian capital and who has claimed that he sends them what his people need. “Every step they take for a peaceful transition, Europe will be there,” he said.
Beyond humanitarian aid, von der Leyen has reaffirmed the EU’s intention to contribute to the reconstruction of the country, which according to the UN has lost 800,000 million of its GDP during the 14 years that war has lasted. “That is why we have suspended our sanctions to key economic sectors, such as energy, transport and financial transactions linked to them,” added von der Leyen. For her part, the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, has been in favor of maintaining that roadmap: “We need to raise sanctions because if there is hope there are less chaos.”
However, the high representative has assured that they have “an eye” put in the new government to ensure that the transition is inclusive without punishing ethnicities and religions and peaceful. Thus, Kallas has applauded the government’s decision to carry out an investigation into the wave of violence that has been unleashed in the country and has claimed that those responsible pay accounts.
“Violence is unacceptable in the new Syria and interreligious violence or that affects minorities is completely unacceptable. Those responsible, both in the previous regime and in this new stage, must respond for their actions, ”said Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, who has offered 9.5 million euros for the country and refugees in humanitarian aid.
“We have all agreed that we have to work together with the new authorities of Syria so that the idea of a new Afghanistan cannot be reproduced, where a vacuum creates jihadist foci. It is a lesson that we have to learn for Syria and that we should not repeat again, ”he has finished off.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shaibani, has said in his speech during the conference that this is a “true opportunity to strengthen international efforts to relieve the suffering of Syrians.” He has also appreciated “the positive measures that the EU has adopted, including the lifting of some of the sanctions,” but added that these steps “have not reached the aspirations of the Syrian people.” “We need additional measures to guarantee the transition,” he said.
The Syrian economy is in ruins after more than a decade of war in the country, so in recent years the donor conference in Brussels has been held. This Monday is the ninth, but the first since the fall of the Bashar al Asad regime last December. Although the regime’s drop has given way to a political transition, economic recovery has not yet begun and the main impediment are international sanctions that were imposed on the regime during the conflict, as experts coincide.
The EU has already begun to raise some sanctions progressively, although it reserves the right to revoke this process if the new authorities do not demonstrate their commitment to the democratic transition and respect for human rights, especially ethnic and religious minorities.
But the most weighing sanctions on the Syrian economy are those of the United States, specifically, the César Law (approved by Donald Trump in 2019, during its first mandate), which also applies to non -American entities or individuals – which is a problem for any country that has economic links with the USA.
The European Commissioner for Preparation and Management of Crisis and Equality, Hadja Lahbib, has acknowledged that the extra funds that the EU will do not serve to cover “the hole left by the United States.” “It is certain that we will improve our commitment, we will give more, but we cannot fill the void left by the United States,” he explained.
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