After the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024, the EU was quick to call for an “inclusive transition” in the country that would guarantee the rights of minorities and women in particular.
Ahead of this year’s conference in support of Syria in Brussels, Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said that it would be a “moment of immense responsibility.” She added that “no effort” must be spared “to assist an inclusive transition that gives all Syrians a chance to rebuild their country in line with their aspirations.”
She pointed out that this was “a time of dire needs and challenges for Syria, as tragically evidenced by the recent wave of violence in coastal areas.”
The deadliest fighting since Assad’s ousting has taken place this month, with supporters of the new government and the previous regime clashing in the northwestern coastal city of Latakia. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in London, UK, several hundred civilians were killed in massacres. Those targeted are reportedly mostly from the Alawite ethnoreligious minority, to which Assad also belongs.
The EU and its member states have condemned the violence in the strongest possible terms.
The atrocities seem to have been committed by armed groups supporting the security forces of the transitional government, which has created a committee tasked with investigating the killings of civilians and said that those responsible will be held to account. The EU has welcomed this announcement.
Syria to be formally represented for first time
Though the EU’s annual Syria conference is being held for the ninth time this year, it is the first time that Syria will be formally represented. EU officials have confirmed that Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Shaibani is expected to attend.
The interim government is headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, who made a name for himself as the leader of the Islamist militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which toppled Assad’s regime. HTS was close to the al-Qaeda terrorist network in the past, which is one of the reasons the EU has been reluctant to cooperate with the new government in Syria, said Kristina Kausch, a political analyst at the German Marshall Fund of the United States think tank. She said that its participation in the conference was a “broad step towards [its] international legitimization.”
In addition to high-ranking participants from Syria and Europe, representatives from the US, the United Nations and Syria’s neighboring countries are also expected to attend. The conference will begin with a political part focusing on the transition process, at which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to speak. Concrete pledges of donations will follow.
Humanitarian aid desperately needed
At the last conference in 2024, a total of €7.5 billion (ca. $8.2 billion) was raised to help displaced Syrians both internally and in Syria’s neighboring countries. It comprised €5 billion in grants and €2.5 billion in loans. The hope is to raise even more funds this year, considering the damages caused by almost 15 years of war.
It is estimated that 16 million of Syria’s 23 million inhabitants are dependent on humanitarian aid. They need food, shelter and medical care.
Until recently, one of the most important donors to Syria alongside the EU has been the US. But US President Donald Trump has already announced cuts to humanitarian aid around the world. One of the aims of the Brussels conference is to highlight the message that Syria continues to need aid.
Reconstruction funds
In an interview with DW, Kristina Kausch, who specializes in EU neighborhood policy, emphasizes that the conference aims to save the country from immediate collapse.
Kausch, whose research focuses on Europe’s relations with its neighborhood and broader geopolitical trends in the Middle East, told DW that its new rulers had very little experience of governing and previous sources of income had dried up.
The conference will also be about reconstructing the war-torn country. So far, according to an EU source, the bloc has held back from pledging aid for reconstruction because of the sanctions imposed on Syria but now commitments are being made to help provide basic services such as electricity, water and health care. The EU also wants to assist Syria to rebuild its labor market, by granting microloans, for example. The idea is that the country should become self-sufficient.
Impact of sanctions
In February, the EU suspended sanctions in key areas of energy and transport for example. It also plans “to facilitate financial and banking transactions associated with such sectors and those needed for humanitarian and reconstruction purposes.” Kausch welcomed this as a positive step but said it was not enough for the medium-term reconstruction of Syria.
She said that the EU was pursuing a “step-by-step” approach in its dealings with the transitional government, reserving the right to backtrack if it did not like the developments in Syria. For now, however, the EU wanted to stabilize the country, in its own interests too.
Nanar Hawach, a political analyst with the International Crisis Group, told DW that there was a complex series of sanctions against Syria that remained in place, and these would have an impact on the conference outcome. He said that the sanctions made it difficult for donor countries to transfer money directly to Syria for example.
But he said the conference was an important signal that Syria should enter a post-war phase. He added that it would be an important and concrete result if the international community pushed for more funds to reconstruct the country.
This article was originally written in German.
