EU steps up financial support for Syrians but says hope is 'hanging by a thread'

euronews (in English)

EU steps up financial support for Syrians but says hope is 'hanging by a thread'  The bloc is pledging almost €2.5 billion in further support but says investments hinge on a 'credible' and 'inclusive' transition.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/03/17/eu-steps-up-financial-support-for-syrians-but-says-hope-is-hanging-by-a-thread  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

Transcript

00:00It's a scene unimaginable a few months ago. On Monday, Syria's interim foreign minister

00:07represented Damascus in an EU conference on Syria's future. The European Union doubled

00:13down on its support for the country's transition after the fall of al-Assad, unveiling 2.5

00:18billion euros and committing to further investments if the new authorities steer the country towards

00:24an inclusive, stable future.

00:26We are ready to do more to attract the necessary investments for reconstruction as the political

00:34transition advances towards a credible and inclusive and non-sectarian government.

00:41But despite hope, there is also fear. Brutal violence recently erupted in Syria's northwest

00:47between gunmen linked to the new Sunni Islamist-led government and pro-Assad insurgents, with

00:54more than 1,300 reportedly killed. The UN says Alawite communities were mostly targeted.

01:02The violence outbreak is very worrying and it shows that the hope in Syria is really

01:08hanging by a thread.

01:09I think that we have to be more vocal on both directions, which is clearly expressing when

01:16those things happen that no impunity would be allowed and we want that this kind of situation

01:27won't be repeated.

01:28Also on the table, what the transition means for Syrians in Europe. The UN's refugee agency

01:34says 60% of Syrian refugees have voiced an interest in returning to their home country.

01:40But the UN's migration chief told Euronews that discussions on the return of refugees

01:45cannot take place without commitment to investing in Syria's future.

01:50What we're encouraging states to do is to really invest in this peace-building process.

01:55Invest in the revitalization of Syria. Invest in humanitarian assistance. Because what we

02:01do know is that if people go home and they're subjected to violence or they don't feel safe

02:06or they don't have a future, then they'll migrate out again.

02:10The European Union says that after 14 years of civil war, it can now work together with

02:15the government of Damascus to ensure this is the beginning of a better chapter in Syria's

02:21history. It wants to invest further in Syria. It could further ease sanctions and it's touting

02:28a role for the European Investment Bank in the reconstruction of the country.

02:33But the recent eruption of violence in the northwest of the country is a reminder that

02:37the situation is still volatile. The interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is a former al-Qaeda

02:44commander and the rebel group he led to topple the al-Assad regime is still listed as a terrorist

02:50organization by the European Union. But despite all that, officials here say that for now,

02:57the de facto Syrian government is the best hope for Syria.

03:00Marat Gwin for Euronews in Brussels.

Category

Transcript

Recommended