EU proposes full resumption of cooperative agreement with Syria

BRUSSELS – The European Commission has proposed a full resumption of its 1978 cooperation agreement with Syria, deepening its engagement ahead of formal talks with Syria’s authorities in May, confirming a report published on Friday.

Syria, which had most Western sanctions lifted at the end of last year, is seeking broader integration into the international community under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who headed an alliance of Islamist rebel factions to oust former leader Bashar al-Assad at the end of 2024 after a 14-year war.

The EU hopes to step up economic engagement, including a framework for trade and investment, mobilising private sector funding and supporting reforms to improve Syria’s business environment through a new technical assistance hub.

The EU is also expected to work with Syrian authorities on facilitating the “safe, voluntary and dignified return” of refugees and displaced people.

Europe hosts over 1 million Syrian refugees and asylum seekers, roughly half of whom are in Germany. Their return has been on top of the agenda in most discussions between European capitals and Damascus since Assad’s ouster in late 2024.

Europe is also hoping to integrate Syria into regional connectivity projects, including the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, positioning the country as a hub for transport, energy and digital links.

Syria is emerging as a critical transit point, particularly amid the energy crisis triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war. A first tanker carrying Iraqi oil transported overland sailed from the Syrian port of Baniyas last Thursday.

Turkey, Syria and Jordan have also agreed to upgrade their railway networks to create a corridor linking southern Europe to the Gulf, Turkish transport minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu told Bloomberg last Wednesday.

On security, the EU could support training for Syrian  police and institutional capacity-building in the interior ministry, alongside cooperation on counterterrorism and efforts to address drug trafficking and organised crime.

The EU may also press ahead with support for implementing an agreement struck in January between Damascus and Kurdish-led authorities in the northeast, which includes integrating local institutions into the state and expanding rights for Syrian Kurds as part of a broader political transition.

As a major step in implementing that agreement, Syria appointed in March the commander of the prominent YPG Kurdish forces as a deputy defence minister for eastern territories, where US forces handed over their last remaining military base to the Syrian army last week.