BRUSSELS, Belgium: The European Union on Monday revived its cooperation agreement with Syria as it looks to bolster the war-ravaged country, with an eye on prospects for Syrian migrants in Europe to one day return home.
Meeting in Brussels, EU foreign ministers agreed to fully reinstate the bloc´s cooperation agreement with Syria ahead of talks with its top diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani. Coming 18 months after the ouster of strongman leader Bashar al-Assad, the move “sends a clear political signal of the EU´s commitment to re-engage with Syria and support its economic recovery,” an EU statement said.
Trade provisions of the deal were suspended in 2011 when Assad ruthlessly cracked down on protests at the start of the country´s civil war. The 27-nation bloc has launched a new chapter with Syria since Assad´s fall, with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen telling President Ahmed al-Sharaa in January that Europe would “do everything it can” to support Syria´s recovery.
Arriving in Brussels, Shaibani called for bold action by the bloc. “What is required today is a political will, a readiness to move from caution to full participation into the reconstruction of Syria,” he told reporters. More than a decade of conflict sent millions of Syrians fleeing abroad, and an EU official warned ahead of Monday´s talks that “the reality on the ground is still appalling”.
