- The reassessment aims to develop more effective ways of handling Syrian refugees attempting to reach EU countries.
- Cyprus has seen an increase in Syrian refugees, primarily from Lebanon, on rickety boats.
- The EU has announced a 1-billion-euro ($1.06 billion) aid package for Lebanon to boost border controls.
On Friday, the governments of eight European Union member states declared that they should re-evaluate the situation in Syria to enable the voluntary return of Syrian refugees to their homeland.
In a joint declaration, officials from Austria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Malta, and Poland announced their agreement on a reassessment aimed at developing “more effective ways of handling” Syrian refugees attempting to reach European Union countries.
During a summit meeting in the Cypriot capital, the eight countries stated that they had held talks and emphasized that the situation in Syria has “considerably evolved,” despite the absence of complete political stability.
In recent months, Cyprus has witnessed an upsurge of Syrian refugees reaching the island nation primarily from Lebanon aboard rickety boats.
Earlier this month, the EU announced a 1-billion-euro ($1.06 billion) aid package for Lebanon, intending to boost border controls to halt the flow of asylum seekers and migrants to Cyprus and Italy.
The eight countries stated that the EU should further increase support for Lebanon to “mitigate the risk of even greater flows from Lebanon to the EU.”
The joint declaration stated, “Governments of the relevant member states should make decisions regarding who has the right to cross their borders, rather than criminal networks engaged in migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings.”
A Cypriot official clarified that any re-evaluation of conditions within Syria would not necessarily entail deporting Syrian refugees back to their country. Instead, Syrian refugees from areas re-designated as safe would lose any allowances, benefits, and the right to work, creating a disincentive for others to come to Cyprus.
The official clarified, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t allowed to speak publicly about details of the proposal, that while they “fully embrace” the need to support Syrian refugees in line with international law, the countries hoped their talks could open a wider debate within the 27-member bloc on the process of granting the migrants international protection.
In Lebanon, where anti-refugee sentiment has been surging recently, a convoy earlier this week transported over 300 Syrian refugees back to Syria.
Lebanese officials have long been urging the international community to either resettle the refugees in other countries or assist them in returning to Syria.
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