EU official says €175 million Syria recovery package 'clear message' of support

EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica speaks during an interrogation with AFP in Damascus connected June 5, 2025 | Photo Credit: AFP

Visiting EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica said Thursday (June 5, 2025) that a 175 cardinal euro bundle for war-torn Syria was a "clear message" of enactment for its reconstruction.

Ms. Suica announced the bundle successful Damascus connected Wednesday (June 4, 2025), saying it would absorption connected sectors including energy, education, wellness and agriculture, helping rebuild Syria's economy, enactment its institutions and beforehand quality rights.

"I came here... with a wide connection that we are present to assistance and assistance Syria connected its recovery," Ms. Suica told AFP in an interrogation connected Thursday (June 5, 2025).

"We privation that reconstruction and betterment volition beryllium Syria-owned and Syria-led," she said, connected the archetypal sojourn by an EU commissioner since a transitional authorities was unveiled successful precocious March.

"We privation to spot Syria to beryllium a regular, normal, antiauthoritarian state successful the future," she added.

Syria has been navigating a delicate modulation since Islamist-led forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad successful December aft astir 14 years of civilian war.

The European Union announced past period it would assistance economical sanctions connected Syria successful a bid to assistance its recovery.

"This is simply a pivotal infinitesimal — a caller section successful EU-Syria relations," Ms. Suica said connected X, calling her gathering with interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa "constructive".

Like Syria's neighbours, Western governments are keen to steer it onto the roadworthy to stableness aft the warfare triggered an exodus of millions of refugees.

Refugee returns should beryllium "safe, voluntary and dignified", Ms. Suica said.

The EU has not designated Syria arsenic a harmless state for returns "because we don't privation to propulsion radical to travel present and past they don't person a home", she said.

The EU past period sanctioned 3 Syrian militia groups and 2 of their leaders for superior quality rights abuses implicit their alleged engagement successful sectarian massacres successful the costal heartland of the Alawite minority, to which Assad belongs, successful March.

"We cannot pronounce 1 portion of Syria harmless and different not," Ms. Suica said, noting that designating Syria a harmless state needs "unanimity among 27 European subordinate states".

She said Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani would be a ministerial gathering involving astir a twelve Mediterranean countries successful Brussels connected June 23.

A connection released connected Wednesday (June 4, 2025) said that the European Commission was "actively pursuing the integration of Syria into respective cardinal initiatives with its Mediterranean spouse countries".

"We privation to spot Syria united" and inclusive, Ms. Suica told AFP. "This is simply a process. It volition hap measurement by step."

Published - June 05, 2025 11:35 p.m. IST