On Monday 23 June, European foreign ministers called on the international community to step up its support, both political and financial, for Syria, stressing that its transition and reconstruction “will require long-term sustained efforts”.
In the conclusions it adopted, the EU Council believes that the international community can “make a significant contribution to supporting Syria’s political transition, transitional justice, reconciliation, socio-economic recovery and reconstruction”.
The European Union urges all external actors, without exception, to fully respect Syria’s unity, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and condemns any unilateral foreign military action and presence as well as any attempt to undermine the country’s stability and its prospects for peaceful transition.
The EU also continues to call for an immediate end to the violence, strongly condemning the attacks and atrocious crimes committed against civilians. The transitional authorities must maintain order, control armed groups, protect all Syrians, “regardless of their ethnic or religious background”, and bring all perpetrators to justice.
On the same day, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the Mar Elias church in Damascus earlier in the day, which claimed numerous victims, explaining that “this heinous and cowardly violence against Christians was an attack on all Syrians”.
Link to the conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/hi1
On the same day, the Council adopted sanctions against three military officers, whose units involved in the sectarian violence perpetrated in March 2025 in the coastal region of Syria, and the two most important Syrian businessmen who supported the al-Assad regime.
Link to the legal act: https://aeur.eu/f/hil (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)