On Wednesday 30 October, the Member States discussed for the first time the voluntary return of Syrian refugees to their countries, as requested by the European Council last April. This at a time when more and more Syrians are fleeing Lebanon.
On the basis of a non-paper, the EU27 addressed the issue of the resumption of relations with Bashar-al-Assad’s regime and the security situation in the country to enable these voluntary returns, while several Member States, led by Cyprus in particular, had also announced their intention to return Syrians to safe areas of the country before the summer.
According to one source, the discussion was relatively balanced, with delegations particularly keen for the EU to present a “clear and coherent position” on this issue.
Some delegations appreciated the Commission’s desire to give UNHCR a crucial role in this process, but some also indicated that they did not consider the country to be a safe one.
“Returns to Syria can only take place if it is genuinely voluntary, with the necessary guarantees of safety and dignity. Unfortunately, these conditions have not yet been met”, said this source.
Other countries have welcomed the Commission’s document, which “to a large extent reflects the proposals put forward in July by countries such as Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Italy, the Czech Republic, Greece, Slovakia and Slovenia, calling for a review of the EU’s strategy towards Syria, without legitimising the regime”, said another source.
The rehabilitation of infrastructure, the idea of a special EU envoy for Syria, cooperation with the UNHCR on the ground to facilitate the voluntary, safe and dignified repatriation of Syrian refugees, and support for the private sector are all avenues welcomed by these countries.
According to another source, the Commission, whose non-paper was positively received, stressed during this exchange “that all suggestions are possible within the current red lines of the EU’s policy towards Syria”. No Member State has asked for this policy to be adjusted at this stage, although some countries are more open than others to establishing contacts at local level in cooperation with the IOM (International Organization for Migration) and the UNHCR, and to appointing a special envoy for Syria, as proposed by the Commission. These possible openings would not, in any way, be a precursor to the legitimisation of the regime, but would aim to enable a rapid recovery and create the preconditions for a voluntary return, this source added. While the southern EU countries, Austria and the Czech Republic are said to have been the most open to modifying the current parameters of their approach to Syria, Belgium, Luxembourg and Ireland adopted a firmer stance. And France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden reportedly stressed the difficulty of finding the right path, between the willingness to support returns and the importance of maintaining the current principles of the EU’s Syria policy. The Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU stated that it will try to schedule a new discussion on the subject before the end of the year, in parallel with exchanges on the overall effectiveness of the EU’s return system. The Member States all agreed, at least on Wednesday, on the need to support the UNHCR’s efforts to help refugees and displaced persons.
According to the Commission’s non-paper, until recently, a relatively small number of Syrians have sought to return home (391,488 refugees from the region between 2016 and 2023). But with the recent escalation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, more than a million people have been displaced and more than 300,000 have entered Syria, 70% of them Syrians.
It is estimated that 324 million US dollars will be needed between now and March 2025 to help Syria manage the influx of people. However, on the question of diplomatic relations with Syria, the Commission remains very cautious and at this stage is only advocating a new, limited presence in the country with a future EU special envoy for Syria.
In addition to support for the UNHCR, the Commission also wants to explore ways of increasing funding to rehabilitate essential infrastructure in Syria, but this would require an EU consensus on investment restrictions, it says, at a time when the country is facing restrictive measures. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)