EU must demand a say in Syria negotiations

Six ECFR Council members call for a say in the Syria negotations for the EU. 

In Syria, fighting continues between a wide variety of parties, and Syrian and Russian forces continue their relentless bombardments. Large parts of the population still lack essential food and medical supplies as a direct result of President Assad’s refusal to allow in (EU-funded) international organisations and NGOs carrying essential humanitarian supplies.

This week the EU hosts a conference on the future of Syria and the region. At the same time, Russia, Turkey and Iran are dictating the terms on the ground, and the US seems increasingly focused on a military victory over the so-called Islamic State.

The EU is the largest humanitarian donor for Syria, but has become marginalised in political negotiations. By initiating this conference, the EU illustrates its readiness to take up a significant part of Syria’s reconstruction. Yet it has to tread carefully. Jumpstarting a large-scale reconstruction programme without a mutually consented political solution under UN auspices could become an implicit endorsement of Assad’s control over Syria, and hence a betrayal to the aspirations of large parts of Syria’s civil society.

The EU should now leverage its role as the largest financial donor, to demand a say in any negotiations on the political transition and future of Syria. Eagerly giving financial support to a Syria in which Russia’s President Putin and Assad dictate the political terms would undermine its credibility.

Under any development or political agreement, chances of a strong central government returning to Syria are small, and the various parts and regions of Syria are likely to claim or receive a certain degree of self-autonomy. Syrian civil society should therefore be closely involved in any endeavours for the future of Syria. Only by empowering the population can the political trust and stability Syria so desperately needs be created.

 

Marietje Schaake MEP, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group (ALDE)
Arnaud Danjean MEP, European People’s Party group (EPP)
Urmas Paet MEP, ALDE
Petras AustreviciusMEP, ALDE
Alyn Smith MEP, Greens/European Free Alliance
Jacek Saryusz-Wolski MEP
Tunne KelamMEP, EPP
Jordi Solé i Ferrando MEP, Socialists and Democrats group (S&D)
Bart Staes MEP, Greens/European Free Alliance
Eugen Freund MEP, S&D
Csaba Sogor MEP, EPP
Hilde Vautmans MEP, ALDE
Charles Goerens MEP, ALDE
Ana Gomes MEP, S&D
Gerard Deprez MEP, ALDE
Matthijs van Miltenburg MEP, ALDE
Sophie in t Veld MEP, ALDE
Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy MEP, ALDE
Hans van Baalen MEP, ALDE
Beatriz Becerra MEP, ALDE
Maite Pagazaurtundúa MEP, ALDE
Pier Antonio Panzeri MEP, S&D
Edouard Martin MEP, S&D
Izaskun Bilbao Barandica MEP, ALDE
Nessa Childers MEP, S&D
Kaja Kallas MEP, ALDE
Nathalie Griesbeck MEP, ALDE
Terese Gimenez BarbatMEP, ALDE
Lieve Wierinck MEP, ALDE
Kati Piri MEP, S&D
Neena Gill MEP, S&D
Pavel Telicka MEP, ALDE
Pascal Durand MEP, Greens/European Free Alliance
Reform party 30 member party faction in the Estonian parliament
Sjoerd Sjoerdsma Member of the Dutch parliament, D66
Tom Brake MP, Liberal Democrats
Baroness Lindsay Northover MP, Liberal Democrats
Juan Carlos Girauta Member of the Spanish parliament, Ciudadanos
Melisa Rodriguez Member of the Spanish parliament, Ciudadanos
Fernando Maura Member of the Spanish parliament, Ciudadanos
Simonas Gentvila Member of the Spanish parliament, Ciudadanos
Gintaras Vaičekauskas Member of the Lithuanian parliament, Liberal Movement
Vitalijus Gailius Member of the Lithuanian parliament, Liberal Movement
Christophe Premat Member of the Assemblée Nationale, France, Parti Socialiste
Omid Nouripour Member of the Bundestag, Alliance ’90/Greens
Franziska Brantner Member of the Bundestag, Germany, Alliance ’90/Greens
Roderich Kiesewetter Member of the Bundestag, CDU/CSU
Christoph Strässer Member of the Bundestag, SPD
Stefan Wallin Member of the Finnish parliament, Swedish People’s Party, former defence minister of Finland
Eva Biaudet Member of the Finnish parliament, Swedish People’s Party
Mats Nylund Member of the Finnish parliament, Swedish People’s Party
Anders Adlercreutz Member of the Finnish parliament, Swedish People’s Party
Anna-Maja Henriksson Member of the Finnish parliament, Swedish People’s Party
Veronica Rehn-Kivi Member of the Finnish parliament, Swedish People’s Party
Mats LöfströmMember of the Finnish Parliament, Åland Centre Party
Thomas Blomqvist Member of the Finnish parliament, Swedish People’s Party
André Bauler Member of the Luxembourg parliament, Demokratesch Partei
Gusty Graas Member of the Luxembourg parliament, Demokratesch Partei
Monika Rosa Member of the Sejm, Poland, Nowoczesna
Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus Member of the Sejm, Poland, Nowoczesna
Katarzyna Lubnauer Member of the Sejm, Poland, Nowoczesna
Paulina Hennig-Kloska Member of the Sejm, Poland, Nowoczesna
Adam Szłapka Member of the Sejm, Poland, Nowoczesna

 

This open letter was first published in The Guardian, on 4 April 2017.

The European Council on Foreign Relations does not take collective positions. ECFR publications only represent the views of their individual authors.

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