EU top diplomat says bloc wants to ‘upgrade’ Syria partnership

DAMASCUS

EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (R) poses along with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani at the Techrine Palace in Damascus. (AFP Photo)

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said on Sept. 29 in Damascus that the European Union wanted to “upgrade” its partnership with Syria and help boost its recovery but called for further domestic reform.

“The European Union is using its political and economic tools to help Syria on the path of inclusive and peaceful transition,” Kallas told a press conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.

After the new authorities toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, the EU lifted its economic sanctions on Syria and in May this year restored an EU-Syria cooperation agreement.

“Now we aim to mobilize even more investment and upgrade our partnership. But that’s also very much dependent on Syria’s side,” Kallas said, while also calling for institutional and security improvements.

“Aid alone cannot build Syria. Foreign and domestic investment needs trust, and trust needs security, clear rules, rule of law, functioning institutions” and the equal participation of women in society, as well as reconciliation and transitional justice, she said.

“We are ready to help to build the institutions,” she said.

The bloc’s top diplomat also met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

The 27-nation bloc has launched a new chapter with Syria since Assad’s fall, with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen telling Sharaa in January that Europe would “do everything it can” to support Syria’s recovery.

The country is trying to rebuild, reboot its economy and attract investment after more than 13 years of conflict that killed more than half a million people and ravaged the country’s infrastructure and industry.

Kallas noted that the EU “is already providing 620 million euros for recovery, humanitarian needs and strengthening institutions.”