11
Mar
2025
Watch
The need for EU support towards a just transition and reconstruction in Syria (debate)
Madam President, dear Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in December this House welcomed the end of the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Unfortunately, already in the following days, many politicians took the opportunity to ask for the repatriation of Syrian refugees, ignoring the difficulties of the transition. The country remains unstable: rights are not guaranteed, as also demonstrated by the summary executions of Alawite citizens on the west coast in recent days. We want to hope that the words of the new Syrian leadership on the inclusion of minorities and women are not just words. Europe has a duty to listen and protect the Syrian people, everything: civil society organizations, the different religious denominations, the extraordinary experiment that is Rojava's confederalism, founded on democracy, ecology and feminism. We hope that the summit on the future of Syria can go in this direction. Unfortunately, the lack of involvement of civil society is not a good sign. In the short term, the commitment to provide humanitarian aid to the population and long-term support for a truly democratic and inclusive path for the future of Syria remains crucial.