Several European Union countries and Norway decided to halt asylum procedures for Syrian refugees as the bloc starts to cope with regime change in the country after Bashar Assad’s fall. However, plans for repatriation for the hundreds of thousands of Syrians already present in Europe are still not on the agenda, with the EU likely to be involved in the eventual process.
Germany is among the countries that decided to proceed with the halt, together with Austria, Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Finland, Sweden and Norway. France is considering it but so far it seems to be waiting on the situation becoming clearer in the country. The European Commission commented on the situation saying that at the moment there are not the conditions for safe repatriation.
When asked about possible EU-organised repatriation in the future, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that “it would be very expedient to organise this together.” The Belgium interior ministry also called on EU-wide cooperation, especially in this phase, to monitor migration flows from Syria and avoid Assad loyalists fleeing to Europe.
Last week, rebels’ groups managed to secure control of Syrian capital Damascus and toppled the Assad regime. Assad himself fled the country and should be currently in Russia. Uncertainty on the rebel groups, some of them affiliated in the past with ISIS or Al-Qaeda, is making European countries wary about future relationships. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, tried to reassure that his group wants to govern together with other groups. However, HTS and Al-Golani himself are both on EU’s anti-terrorism list and subject to travel ban and asset freeze.
European countries would like to see some concrete steps before reassessing the situation. “What about the protection of minorities? What about the protection of the people? And then, of course, there could be repatriation,” asked Faeser, addressing some of the concerns. Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee echoed her concerns, by telling reporters that “it’s really positive that the Assad regime has come to an end. At the same time, we can all see that it’s not clear what will happen next.”
Also, the United Nations’ refugee agency is asking for “patience and vigilance” for treatment of Syrian refugees, while the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned that “the transition will present huge challenges in Syria and in the region.”
The issue of Syrian refugees posed a huge challenge in the EU, especially in 2015 when over 1 million arrived in the bloc, creating a big political crisis that is yet to be resolved. Currently, 14,000 Syrians applied for asylum in Europe up until September, while last year 183,000 made the application. On average one in three application is successful.
