EU Ends Partial Suspension of Syria Cooperation Agreement

The European Council has terminated the partial suspension of a cooperation agreement with Syria, restoring fuller trade ties with the country as it seeks to emerge from nearly 14 years of war. The council said on Monday the move marked an important step towards strengthening relations between the European Union and Syria.

The decision sends a clear political signal of the EU’s commitment to re-engage with Syria and support its economic recovery, the European Council added in a statement. At the same time, the EU’s foreign ministers met in Brussels with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani.

The meeting kicked off a high-level political dialogue 18 months after the removal of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad.

The 27-nation bloc has launched a new chapter with Syria after al-Assad was swept from power in December 2024. Officials proposed that EU states fully reactivate the bloc’s cooperation agreement with Syria last month. The deal, which abolished duties on imports of most industrial products from Syria, was partially suspended in 2011 when al-Assad’s regime cracked down on antigovernment protests at the start of a civil war.

Syria-EU trade had peaked in 2010 at more than 7 billion euros. By 2023, EU imports from the country had dwindled to 103 million euros while European exports to Syria stood at 265 million euros.

On the matter of Syrian refugee returns, Germany is on the front line as home to the EU’s largest Syrian community at more than a million people. The country’s chancellor triggered a backlash last month by declaring during a visit by Syria’s president that he hoped 80 percent of Syrian refugees would return home within three years.