The Council of the European Union announced that the first high-level political dialogue between the European Union and Syria will be held in Brussels on May 11.
The conference will be co-chaired by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas and Syrian Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.
According to the council, the dialogue represents an opportunity to make progress toward normalizing relations between the two sides and to assess areas for cooperation.
This includes, in particular, EU support for Syria’s transitional authorities’ efforts to achieve stability, promote social and economic recovery, and advance an inclusive political transition, according to the EU.
EU Ambassador to the United States Jovita Neliupšienė, during her meeting with Syria’s chargé d’affaires in Washington, Mohammad Qanatari, emphasized the importance of exchanging views ahead of the first high-level political dialogue between the European Union and Syria.
Neliupšienė stressed that the European Union supports a stable, inclusive, and peaceful future for the Syrian people.
Rights Demands, More For More
Human Rights Watch sent a letter ahead of the political dialogue between the European Union and Syria.
In its letter, the organization said the European Union should use its leverage and adopt a “more for more” approach, linking closer EU-Syria ties to real progress on human rights.
The organization called on the European Commission and the Council to ensure that the EU’s public and private messages to the Syrian authorities, during the upcoming political dialogue and afterward, emphasize the need to make tangible progress in the following key areas:
Reconstruction and recovery:
The European Union should continue providing financial and technical support to Syria in its efforts to rebuild its economy, while strictly upholding a zero-tolerance policy toward any form of abuse or discrimination. To achieve this, such support must be tied to effective guarantees ensuring that it is not used in a discriminatory manner and does not contribute in any way to entrenching discriminatory practices by the authorities, in a way that ensures the promotion and protection of economic and social rights.
Warnings Over Israel’s Plans in the Golan
In its letter, the organization also addressed Israel’s plan, announced in April 2026, to transfer thousands of Israeli civilians to the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, considering it a clear indication of intent to commit further war crimes.
The organization called on the European Union to take effective measures to pressure Israeli authorities to reverse these plans, work to dismantle existing settlements, and end violations in areas of southern Syria under its control.
According to the organization, these violations include the forcible displacement of residents, the confiscation and demolition of homes, depriving residents of their livelihoods, as well as the unlawful transfer of Syrian detainees into Israel.
It also stressed the need to impose targeted sanctions on those responsible for these violations, and to ban trade and economic activities linked to illegal settlements, including those established in the occupied Golan Heights. It also called on EU states to suspend any military support that could facilitate violations of human rights and international law.
At the end of its letter, the organization urged EU leaders to refrain from engaging in areas of cooperation that do not meet human rights standards, or from downplaying the scale of Syria’s continuing economic, security, and human rights challenges to justify, promote, or facilitate premature refugee returns.
It said major obstacles still prevent safe, dignified, and sustainable returns, including continued security concerns, a real and volatile risk of renewed violence, and the fact that large parts of the country, devastated by war, remain uninhabitable.
Resumption of Relations
The European Commission had proposed the full resumption of the EU-Syria Cooperation Agreement, marking a new step in relations between the two sides.
The measure followed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s announcement in January of the new framework for cooperation between the European Union and Syria.
This would be done by intensifying EU support for a peaceful and inclusive Syrian-led transition, meeting humanitarian needs, and contributing to efforts aimed at achieving economic recovery.
The EU-Syria Cooperation Agreement was partially suspended in 2011 in response to the systematic repression and grave human rights violations committed by the Assad regime.
The cooperation agreement has formed the framework governing cooperation between the European Union and Syria since 1978, supporting Syria’s economic and social development and strengthening trade relations based on fairness and legitimacy.
The agreement also provides for the abolition of customs duties imposed on EU imports of most industrial products of Syrian origin, and prohibits either side from imposing quantitative restrictions.
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