European leaders, and the European Union (EU) in particular, are under new pressure to reconsider their stance on Syria, even to restore relations with the regime in Damascus.
As immigration continues to be a hot political issue in Europe, and partly due to the rise of the far right, experts say a shift in Brussels' policy towards Syria under the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad seems inevitable.
Italy, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right anti-immigration party Fratelli d'Italia (FdI), took the lead and decided to resume diplomatic relations with Syria.
Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, said that Europe would eventually follow this trend and normalize relations with al-Assad's government. "It won't be soon, but it will happen," Landis told DW.
"Shifting attention" back to Syria
In July, fearing the risk of a new wave of refugees from Syria flooding into Europe, the foreign ministers of eight EU member states sent a letter calling on High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell to appoint an EU-Syria envoy.
"Syrians continue to leave their homeland in large numbers, adding to the strain on neighboring countries, at a time of heightened regional tensions, risking creating a new wave of refugees," the letter said.
The letter called on the bloc to "review and evaluate" its stance and policy on Syria, stressing that "the goal is a more active, results-oriented and effective Syria policy".
Many people who have just returned to Syria have fled to countries like Türkiye or Lebanon. Photo: Getty Images
Italy was one of the signatories to the letter. Rome has now moved to restore formal relations with Damascus. Stefano Ravagnan, currently the Italian Foreign Ministry's Special Envoy for Syria, has been appointed as Italy's Ambassador to the Middle Eastern country.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the idea was to “shift the focus” back to Syria. Italy severed ties with Syria in 2012, along with Germany, France and others, in response to Mr al-Assad’s role in the long-running conflict there.
“The Italians certainly hope that other European countries will follow their example, as they are trying to create momentum to adjust EU policy,” said Aron Lund, a Middle East expert at the New York-based think tank The Century Foundation.
“I think over time the pressure to re-engage with the regime in Damascus will increase,” Mr. Lund added.
European leaders may hope that, in return for normalizing relations, Mr. al-Assad will take steps to reduce the flow of Syrians to the EU and facilitate the return of Syrians who have been deported after their asylum applications were rejected by EU member states.
In June, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz signaled that his government supported the deportation of Syrians convicted of crimes, a stance that was reinforced by a stabbing that left three people dead in Solingen over the weekend, with the suspect believed to be Syrian.
The position has changed
But Mr Scholz is not the first to advocate such a move. In 2021, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen decided to revoke permanent residency permits for Syrian refugees from the Damascus area, calling it a safe place for them to return.
Although Sweden's conservative government, which is allied with the right, has no official policy of deporting asylum seekers, it has made it difficult for them to stay in the Nordic country, said Bernd Parusel, a migration expert at the Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies.
"They tried to restrict residence permits, only offering temporary residence rather than permanent residence, and made family reunification more difficult. And they tried to deter new arrivals," Parusel told DW, noting that the policy did not only apply to Syrian asylum seekers.
The scene of a stabbing that left three people dead in Solingen, western Germany, on August 23, 2024. Photo: Getty Images
According to the European Union Refugee Agency, 1.14 million asylum applications were filed last year in the EU and other European countries, including Norway and Switzerland. Syrians remain the largest group of asylum seekers, with more than 181,000 applying for asylum in Europe.
“In 2023, Syrians filed significantly more asylum applications, up 38% compared to 2022, but still less than half the number of applications filed in 2015,” the agency said, the peak of the migration crisis the “old continent” experienced at the time.
In a recent report, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that many people who have returned to Syria have fled to countries such as Türkiye or Lebanon, and that "general conditions in Syria still do not allow for their safe, dignified and sustainable return."
Brussels has so far maintained its official policy of calling for free and fair elections and a democratic transition to power in Syria. Middle East expert Landis said the bloc would likely wait for a signal from the US to determine if and when it wants to change its policy. But there are plenty of signs that the stance in some EU member states has changed.
Minh Duc (According to DW, Anadolu)
Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/chuyen-bien-trong-chinh-sach-syria-cua-eu-204240827154938752.htm
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