"The European Council has terminated the partial suspension of a cooperation agreement with Syria, thereby restoring fuller trade ties with the country as it seeks to emerge from nearly 14 years of war. The council said on Monday the move marked an important step towards strengthening relations between the European Union and Syria. The decision sends a clear political signal of the EU's commitment to re-engage with Syria and support its economic recovery, the European Council added in a statement."
"At the same time, the EU's foreign ministers met in Brussels with top Syrian diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani, kicking off a high-level political dialogue 18 months after the removal of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad. The 27-nation bloc has launched a new chapter with Syria after al-Assad was swept from power in December 2024. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen promised after meeting interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus in January that Europe would do everything it can to support Syria's recovery."
"The commission proposed that EU states fully reactivate the bloc's cooperation agreement with Syria last month. The deal, which abolished duties on imports of most industrial products from Syria, was partially suspended in 2011 when al-Assad's regime cracked down on antigovernment protests at the start of a civil war. Syria-EU trade had peaked in 2010 at more than 7 billion euros ($9.1bn at the 2010 exchange rate). By 2023, EU imports from the country had dwindled to 103 million euros ($120m) while European exports to Syria stood at 265 million euros ($310m)."
The European Council terminated the partial suspension of a cooperation agreement with Syria, restoring fuller trade ties as Syria seeks to emerge from nearly 14 years of war. The move is presented as a political signal of the EU’s commitment to re-engage with Syria and support economic recovery. EU foreign ministers met in Brussels with Syrian diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani to begin a high-level political dialogue 18 months after Bashar al-Assad was removed from power. The European Commission proposed full reactivation of the cooperation agreement, which had abolished duties on imports of most industrial products but was partially suspended in 2011. Trade declined sharply from over 7 billion euros in 2010 to 103 million euros in EU imports by 2023. Germany faces major pressure on refugee return policy due to its large Syrian population.
#eu-syria-relations #trade-and-cooperation-agreement #political-dialogue #economic-recovery #refugee-policy
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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