EU seeks a broader role in Syria as Russian influence lingers

EU foreign ministers are due to meet in Brussels on Monday, 16 November, to discuss re-engagement with Syria, which is rebuilding after a civil war and the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in late 2024. Dubravka Šuica, the EU commissioner for the Mediterranean, is scheduled to visit Damascus on Tuesday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is due in Jordan on Thursday.

The visits are intended to support Syria’s stabilisation, reconstruction and renewed links with the wider world. The EU is also considering whether Syria could become a stable energy supplier to Europe. Alongside continued humanitarian assistance, the bloc has promised €455 million for socio-economic recovery.

An EU official, who asked not to be named, said the bloc would help reform Syria’s banking sector and business environment. The country still lacks correspondent banks that could enable transfers of European or US funding into Syria, the official said. Russia’s close ties to the ousted Assad regime remain a concern for the EU.