Sunday

28th May 2023

EU countries free to ship arms to Syria

EU countries are legally free to ship arms to Syria from 1 June in an ugly compromise after 14 hours of talks in Brussels.

The deal is to see all other sanctions - including visa bans, asset freezes and a prohibition on buying oil from regime-linked firms - extended for one year.

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

It comes with a political declaration that nobody will deliver weapons "at this stage."

It also comes with a promise to send arms "for the protection of civilians" only.

But it does not hide the fact that each member state will now create its own Syria arms rules because they could not agree a joint approach.

The talks saw a clash between British foreign minister William Hague and Austria's Michael Spindelegger.

France supported the UK, but took a back seat when its minister left early for another meeting in Paris.

Hague told press afterward: "We have brought an end to the EU arms embargo on the opposition."

He said: "This decision gives us the flexibility in future to respond to a worsening situation or the refusal of the [Syrian] regime to negotiate."

When asked how to ensure Islamic extremists do not get weapons, he added: "We would only take the step of sending arms in concert with other nations, in carefully controlled circumstances and in compliance with international law."

Spindelegger branded the result a failure.

He described Britain's negotiating tactics as "deplorable" and "annoying."

He said most ministers had wanted to keep the arms ban for now but to review it in August.

He also said the EU is a "peace organisation," but if countries start to take sides in civil wars it will "fundamentally" alter the nature of EU foreign policy.

For her part, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton tried to paper over the crack in the European facade.

She said: "There is a strong spirit of trying to find a European solution … Each individual [country] is trying to find a way to best support the Syrian people."

Dutch foreign minister Frans Timmermans gave a more frank assessment.

He noted: "We were risking not having any sanctions by the end of the day. So, I am counting my blessings. At least 90 percent of the sanctions are still there."

Outside the EU, Turkey and the US have voiced support for arming the rebels while Russia opposes the move.

"This does direct damage to the propects for convening the international conference," Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Itar-Tass news agency on Tuesday, referring to plans to hold peace talks in Geneva next month.

Meanwhile, analysts predict complications if France and the UK go ahead.

A contact from a French private intelligence firm, who asked to remain anonymous, told EUobserver if they ship fancy surface-to-air or anti-tank missiles they will have to send soldiers to teach rebels how to use them.

Robert Baer, a former CIA officer in the Middle East who now writes on security issues for Time magazine, said anyone who gets involved in Syria might get bogged down for years.

"When has it ever been wise to intervene in a civil war? This is the mother of all civil wars," he noted.

"The best thing is to let them bleed it out. That's what happened in Lebanon. The Lebanese got tired of killing each other with no reward for their pain. That's where the Syria conflict is heading," he added, referring to the 1975-1990 Lebanon war.

Opinion

What is the Free Syrian Army? An inside look

As EU foreign ministers meet in Dublin to discuss arming the Free Syrian Army, Koert Debeuf, an EU parliament official, tells EUobserver who the rebels really are.

EU arms to Syria: what, how and if

Britain and France are since Saturday free to ship arms to Syrian rebels. But many analysts think the idea is "a bluff."

Opinion

How the EU's money for waste went to waste in Lebanon

The EU led support for the waste management crisis in Lebanon, spending around €89m between 2004-2017, with at least €30m spent on 16 solid-waste management facilities. However, it failed to deliver.

Latest News

  1. How the EU's money for waste went to waste in Lebanon
  2. EU criminal complicity in Libya needs recognition, says expert
  3. Europe's missing mails
  4. MEPs to urge block on Hungary taking EU presidency in 2024
  5. PFAS 'forever chemicals' cost society €16 trillion a year
  6. EU will 'react as appropriate' to Russian nukes in Belarus
  7. The EU needs to foster tech — not just regulate it
  8. EU: national energy price-spike measures should end this year

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