Brussels, 04/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - Speaking on Twitter on Tuesday 3 September, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström, welcomed the decision by the Swedish authorities to grant all Syrian refugees in the country permanent residence permits. Sweden is the first country in the EU to take such a measure, in response to the deteriorating situation in Syria. This measure will apply to 8,000 Syrian refugees who have already been granted temporary residence. The migration minister, Tobias Billström, welcomed the decision made by the Swedish agency responsible and, according to a report by AFP, called on the world to examine its conscience in this respect. The Aftonbladet newspaper has stated that “no other current conflict on earth is as terrible, bloody and protracted as the Syrian conflict. This ought to make a lot of political figures inside and outside the EU think about our responsibility to our fellow human beings”. (SP/transl.fl)