The EU restores all trade with Syria while investing in the country’s reconstruction, but experts argue that safe returns of Syrian citizens living in the EU cannot happen overnight, as many have already requested citizenship, are still navigating asylum procedures, or simply do not wish to return while conditions in Syria remain uncertain.
THIS WEEK: Syria and Iran, plus national strikes in Belgium and Hungary’s new PMOfficials from Syria, as well as EU ministers dealing with foreign affairs and defence, are all convening in Brussels, ahead of a national strike in Belgium.
The EU has relaunched contact with Syria after years of frozen relations.
But what does it mean for Syrians in Europe?
First launched in late 2022, the so-called High Level Network for Returns (HLNR) used the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel as a justification to enforce the exchange of data of individuals with a deportation order and flagged as “potential terrorists”.