EU Strengthens Ties: Restores Full Trade with Syria

The European Council has ended the partial suspension of a cooperation agreement with Syria, restoring fuller trade ties as the country seeks to recover from nearly 14 years of conflict. The council stated on Monday that this move is an important step toward 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.

At the same time, EU foreign ministers met in Brussels with top Syrian diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani, beginning a high-level political dialogue 18 months after the removal of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. The 27-nation bloc has started a new chapter with Syria following al-Assad’s ousting in December 2024. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged after meeting interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus in January that Europe would do everything it can to support Syria.

The commission proposed last month that EU states fully reactivate the bloc’s cooperation agreement with Syria. The deal, which removed 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 the civil war. Syria-EU trade had peaked in 2010 at over 7 billion euros. By 2023, EU imports from Syria had dropped to 103 million euros, while European exports to Syria stood at 265 million euros.

On the sensitive issue of Syrian refugee returns, Germany, home to the EU’s largest Syrian community at over one million people, is at the forefront. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has adopted tougher migration policies to counter the far right. He sparked controversy during a visit by Syria’s president last month by stating he hoped 80 percent of Syrian refugees would return home within three years. He later clarified this figure was suggested by al-Sharaa himself.