Following the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, several European countries suspended asylum decisions for Syrian citizens. How are the EU authorities reacting to this development, and will they decide to establish diplomatic relations with the group that says it is in charge now but is currently subject to EU sanctions? New circumstances.
Several European countries stopped processing asylum applications from Syrian citizens following the new circumstances created by the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, although the situation in the country remains uncertain and tense.
Islamist rebels from the Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group launched an offensive against government troops in late November. Last weekend the HTS and its allies swept into the capital Damascus, ending more than five decades of brutal rule by the Assad family. Bashar al-Assad took over as president of Syria in 2000 after the death of his father Hafiz Assad, who had ruled the country since 1971.
The collapse of Assad clan's half-century regime follows a thirteen-year civil war sparked by a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests. The conflict cost more than 500,000 lives and forced half of the country's pre-war population of 23 million people to flee their homes, many millions of them abroad.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) data, displaced Syrians have requested asylum in more than 130 countries around the world, although the vast majority live in neighbouring countries within the region: Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and especially Türkiye, where there are about three million Syrians.
Figures released on Wednesday by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) show that more than 100,000 asylum applications from Syrian citizens were pending across the EU at the end of October, with applications frozen in multiple member states following the fall of Assad.
EU countries suspend Syrian asylum Although Europe is not the main destination for displaced Syrians, there are countries that have been hosting these nationals for years, such as Germany, where they arrived en masse in the middle of the last decade, reaching almost one million.
Germany's decision to pause asylum proceedings affects more than the 47,000 people from Syria in Germany. In their applications the civil war and current political situation in Syria would be major factors in deciding whether the applicants should receive asylum or not, according to a spokesperson of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).
A deputy spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, Sonja Kock, indicated that "there is the possibility of lowering the priority of asylum decisions", an option that the BAMF can resort to in unclear situations, such as the current one in Syria. It means that asylum decisions are not resolved but are placed back at the bottom of the pile and other asylum decisions are prioritized, she said.
For its part, the French government has followed other European countries in deciding to freeze the asylum process. "We have decided to adopt a measure inspired by the German one," confirmed a source from the French Foreign Office.
The Italian government also joined the countries suspending asylum applications late on Monday.
Countries such as Austria (almost 15,000 applicants according to UNHCR data for 2024) and non-EU member Switzerland (just under 500) have also frozen applications in light of the new developments. Switzerland receives several hundred asylum applications from Syrian citizens every year, with 2015 being the year in which these reached their highest number, exceeding 4,700.
Belgium (more than 4,000 applicants) has also suspended the processing of asylum applications from Syrians. The country's authorities want more clarity on the future course of Syria and the risks for possible returns to the country. "Refugee status is not necessarily forever. If the situation in Syria improves sustainably, I will ask the CGRS (the service responsible for processing applications) to review the refugee status of Syrians who arrived here in the last five years," said Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor.
In the Netherlands the cabinet is imposing a six-month decision freeze on asylum applications from Syrians. This was announced by Minister of Asylum and Migration Marjolein Faber in a letter to the House of Representatives. Syrians whose applications are rejected will not be sent back.
On Tuesday, the immigration authorities of Finland, Sweden, Denmark and non-EU member Norway have joined other European countries and have announced that they are stopping the processing of asylum applications from Syrian citizens, in response to the overthrow of the authoritarian regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Denmark's Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who politically belongs to the S&D group, but often stands alone among European Social Democrats with her stance on immigration policy, expects Syrians to return home to rebuild their country after the fall of Assad's regime."If I was forced to flee Denmark, I would have a burning desire to return. This is my country, my language and where my family has lived for generations," said Frederiksen.
In the former EU member state, the UK Home Office (currently with almost 5,700 applicants) has taken a similar line as Germany or France, suspending asylum applications from Syrian citizens until it "evaluates" the current situation, the British Home Office said in a statement.
Portugal has not yet decided whether to suspend hosting future migrants, said the Portuguese prime minister Luís Montenegro.
The country will not return the 1,243 refugees it is currently hosting to Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, Montenegro added. "We won't send any of them back, we'll take care of their integration and reception," Montenegro continued.
According to the Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala the situation in Syria carries security risks for Europe, but it can also be an opportunity for creating a better life in the country and the return of some Syrian refugees. "In order to create better conditions for life in Syria in the future than they have been so far under the Assad government," he said. There are currently 328 people of Syrian nationality who have been granted international protection in the form of asylum or subsidiary protection in the Czech Republic, Fiala said.
The Spanish government is not considering suspending asylum procedures for Syrian citizens for the time being, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation José Manuel Albares said on Tuesday.
Slovenia shares a similar approach. On Wednesday, the Interior Ministry announced that the processing of applications for international protection from Syrian nationals in Slovenia will not be suspended for the time being. Its data shows Syrians remain the largest group of illegal migrants; more than 14,000 of them crossed into the country in the first ten months of the year. In the year to December Syrians submitted 184 applications for international protection in Slovenia.
Bulgaria has not made a decision yet to suspend the granting of asylum to people from Syria as the situation in the country is still too insecure, caretaker Foreign Minister Ivan Kondov said on Wednesday. "At this time, it is of the utmost importance to launch an inclusive, Syrian-led political dialogue in implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2254 to ensure an orderly peaceful and inclusive transition," he stressed.
Amnesty International and the UN warn against underestimating the risk.
The NGO Amnesty International urged European governments on Tuesday to "immediately reverse" their decisions to suspend asylum applications for Syrians and urged them not to sacrifice the safety of these citizens for the sake of "anti-refugee policies" that prevail on the continent, considering that the situation in Syria is extremely volatile.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has stressed that the new situation in Syria could allow "the world's largest crisis of forced displacement to move towards fair solutions", although he pointed out that the situation is still uncertain.
EU: "not currently engaging" with Syrian Islamists HTS.
The European Union issued a statement on Monday saying that it was not in contact with Islamist group HTS, which spearheaded the ouster of Assad, and urged a peaceful political transition.
HTS is rooted in a Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda but broke ties with the jihadist group in 2016. HTS and its leader, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, are under EU sanctions.
"The European Union is not currently engaging with HTS or its leader, full stop," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni said. "As HTS takes on greater responsibilities, we will need to assess not just their words but also their actions." The 27-nation bloc also released a statement saying: "Now more than ever, it is imperative that all stakeholders engage in an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned dialogue on all key issues to ensure an orderly, peaceful and inclusive transition." The EU said it was "critical to preserve the territorial integrity of Syria and to respect its independence, its sovereignty, as well as state institutions, and to reject all forms of extremism".
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II about the situation on Monday and said she would talk to other regional leaders in the coming days. Next week, von der Leyen will meet the President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, on Sunday welcomed the fall of Bashar al-Assad and said it pointed to the weakness of some of his supporters, including Russia. "The end of Assad's dictatorship is a positive and long-awaited development. It also shows the weakness of Assad's backers, Russia and Iran," Kallas said in a social media post. "The process of rebuilding Syria will be long and complicated and all parties must be ready to engage constructively," she added.
(The content is based on news by agencies participating in the enr, in this case AFP, ANP, ANSA, Belga, BTA, CTK, dpa, EFE, Europa Press, Lusa, STA, Tanjug).
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