The situation in Syria has not yet shown progress that would allow European Union (EU) countries to start mass repatriation of Syrian citizens who have sought asylum in the EU, said European Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner, quoted by DPA, writes BTA.
“We have not yet reached the point where Syria is stable enough to carry out large-scale deportations“, Brunner said in an interview with the agency. According to him, the country “is not yet a safe country of origin under EU rules. We are providing support to improve the situation and to change that.“
With the exception of perpetrators, the main focus at this stage is on voluntary return to the country torn by civil war. At the same time, Brunner noted that the EU Agency for Asylum has reported that the situation in Syria is improving.
Therefore, the EU Border and Coast Guard Agency “Frontex“ has already facilitated the voluntary return of thousands of Syrians.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadeful, a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), came under sharp criticism within his party in October after he questioned the possibility of large numbers of Syrians returning voluntarily during a visit to Syria.
The CDU's Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, said in a draft parliamentary resolution that most Syrians with temporary residence permits would no longer have grounds for protection after the end of the country's civil war and that mass deportations should begin.
The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, ended in December 2024 after then-rebel leader and now president Ahmed al-Sharaa and his forces ousted longtime authoritarian leader Bashar al-Assad. Assad.
European Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner also told DPA that the EU will apply a more active "carrot and stick" approach in relations with third countries on migration issues, using tools such as visa policy and trade and development cooperation. According to him, the aim is to both limit illegal migration and create opportunities for legal migration, especially for skilled workers and scientists. It is the EU, not the human trafficking networks, that should decide who comes to Europe, Brunner concluded.