EU countries put Syrian asylum applications on hold (2)

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 13 - 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). (ANSA).