Photo credit: Luxembourg Times
Some European Union countries are pushing to normalize ties with Syria to facilitate deportations of migrants as mainstream leaders look to replicate anti-immigrant far-right parties’ surging population across the continent.
Politico reports that the EU cut ties with Syria in 2011 due to that country’s violent crackdown on protesters, which spiraled into bloody warfare. Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government was accused of using chemical weapons on its people and was charged with torture.
However, the Italian Prime Minister said on Thursday that ” it is necessary to review the European Union Strategy for Syria and to work with all actors to create the conditions for Syrian refugees to return to their homeland in a voluntary, safe and sustainable way” while addressing the Italian senate.
Meloni plans to raise the relationship with Syria during Thursday’s meeting of the 27 EU leaders in Brussels.
The push to normalize relations with war-torn Syria and its president comes after an increase in support for anti-migrant parties after the European election in June.
In recent weeks, Poland’s prime minister ha drawn a rebuke from the EU executive for saying his country would suspend asylum rights for migrants coming through Belarus. The German Chancellor, Olaf Schotz, has shut his country’s borders to EU neighbours following a knife attack allegedly involving a migrant and France’s newly appointed prime minister.
Israel’s ground operations after an invasion of Lebanon in early October added momentum to the push for deporting Syrian migrants. Nearly 200,000 Syrians and Lebanese have fled to Syria since the start of October, according to the UN. Meanwhile, Europe has recorded more than a million Syrian refugees and asylum seekers in the past ten years.
President Assad’s government is eager to return to the embrace of its neighbours and other global leaders. Assad has led a charm offensive for years, telling Syrians who fled it is now safe to return.
More recently, Syria has been bankrolling a campaign by Western influencers to clean up the country’s image and jumpstart tourism.
However, foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said the Netherlands is not ready to support plans to restart negotiations with Syria as it is not considered a safe country, according to the Dutch domestic assessment
