Thursday

1st Jun 2023

Opinion

Syria is still an EU problem

  • Europe has felt the impact of the Syrian civil war more than any region outside the Middle East (Photo: Reuters/Omar Sanadiki)

As the war in Syria comes gradually to its painful conclusion, the country's destiny is under the influence of ever more regional and international powers. Europe, however, is not one of them.

For Europeans and Syrians alike, it is a disastrous situation. From the refugee crisis to violent extremism, Europe has felt the impact of the Syrian civil war more than any region outside the Middle East.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Yet the EU continues to have virtually no influence or even policy on the country. What little there is has been always linked to US policy. But global politics and simply geography mean European and US interests are not necessarily identical.

Fundamentally, Syria is much closer to Europe than it is to US, and immense numbers of Syrians are now refugees in Europe. When extremism thrived in Syria, it was not long before it was exported to European capitals and cities.

US attitudes to Syria are best characterised by its former American special envoy, James Jeffrey, who stated that his "job is to make the war a quagmire for the Russians".

The corollary of a policy aimed squarely at bogging down Russia has been further catastrophe for Syrians caught in the crossfire of geopolitics. Increasing poverty, hunger, illiteracy, drug and human trafficking, radicalism, combined with an ever more oppressive Syrian regime.

All development indicators show that Syrian women are the first victims of that "quagmire".

The persistent efforts to weaken Syria are pushing it to become a failed state. It goes without saying that failed states are the major threats for regional and international security, and it is enough to look at Iraq to remember that reversing the situation from failed into functional state will be a challenging task.

When the demonstrations started in 2011, the EU and US claimed that they would help Syrians to be able to protect their human rights from the violations of the Syrian regime, to help them to fulfil their aspirations of a democratic Syria.

Nonetheless, Western support would find itself in the hands of armed factions in Syria who themselves opposed democracy and who would themselves violate the human rights of Syrians.

It was not long into the political struggle that words such 'human rights' and 'democracy' disappeared from the vocabulary of Europe's Syrian diplomacy. Syrian democratic groups were marginalised and forgotten.

The war might have brutalised Syria, but its people are still human beings living in the 21st century. We still see the benefits of democratic systems, we bitterly regret the fact that democracy and development were not supported, and deeply resent that our country was pushed back into the darkness of terrorism and radicalisation.

Syrian women - who have proved their capability and ambition for peace over the last 10 years - are angry that international support went to political groups opposed to women's rights. Whenever they had the chance, these groups have worked effectively to disempower women and deprive us of our internationally-recognised rights.

The US is now using sanctions on the presumption that increased economic pressure will lead to a fresh wave of protests in Syria, and finally regime change.

But such strategies have proved to be unachievable, thanks not only to the oppression of the Syrian regime, but also because Syrians do not see the current opposition as a modern, democratic, viable alternative.

The civil war's conclusion demands that Europe finally develop a cohesive policy that gives hope for those Syrians determined to build a secular and democratic state. There is no need to reinvent the wheel in Syria, Europe started its modern era when it adopted democratic, pluralistic politics - freedom of speech

EU 'ideally placed'

If Europe wants to help the Syrian people - and especially Syrian women - it is imperative to build its strategy on recognising the fundamental rights of Syrians as people, not as pawns in a greater political game. It must support Syrian political groups that actually value human rights and modern values of freedom, democracy and secularism.

Decisions made in Brussels should not be based on whether they will hurt the governments in Damascus, Moscow, or Tehran.

The EU is ideally placed to play a catalytic role in convincing the new Biden administration of the futility of current and historic US policy in Syria, and its negative impacts on Syria and the region.

Europe can show the necessity and urgency of a political settlement that takes into consideration the aspiration of Syrians for a modern state.

It is also critical that the EU helps Syrians build a democratic alternative to the regime, something that will protect Syria from collapsing, and ensure that Europe has a peaceful, modern and democratic neighbour. That would realise the dreams of 2011 and do much to stabilise the Mediterranean.

Author bio

Mouna Ghanem is a democratic activist who has written about the civil war and peace process for outlets including the Guardian and Independent. She previously served on the Women's Advisory Board to the UN special envoy for Syria. A medical doctor, prior to the civil war she worked for international agencies including UNFPA and UNIFEM.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author's, not those of EUobserver.

Analysis

Ten years on from Tahrir: EU's massive missed opportunity

Investing in the Arab world, in a smart way, is also investing in the European Union's future itself. Let's hope that the disasters of the last decade help to shape the neighbourhood policy of the next 10 years.

Analysis

Why Western military interventions remain necessary

To reject any humanitarian, military intervention is not only problematic from an ethical point of view. It also shows a lack of long-term thinking about European self-interest.

The EU needs to foster tech — not just regulate it

The EU's ambition to be a digital superpower stands in stark contrast to the US — but the bigger problem is that it remains far better at regulation than innovation, despite decades of hand-wringing over Europe's technology gap.

EU export credits insure decades of fossil-fuel in Mozambique

European governments are phasing out fossil fuels at home, but continuing their financial support for fossil mega-projects abroad. This is despite the EU agreeing last year to decarbonise export credits — insurance on risky non-EU projects provided with public money.

Latest News

  1. Europe's TV union wooing Lavrov for splashy interview
  2. ECB: eurozone home prices could see 'disorderly' fall
  3. Adapting to Southern Europe's 'new normal' — from droughts to floods
  4. Want to stop forced migration from West Africa? Start by banning bottom trawling
  5. Germany unsure if Orbán fit to be 'EU president'
  6. EU Parliament chief given report on MEP abuse 30 weeks before sanction
  7. EU clashes over protection of workers exposed to asbestos
  8. EU to blacklist nine Russians over jailing of dissident

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  2. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us