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Syria Conference ends with pledges of billions in aid

by AI | 18.Mar 2025 | Europe in brief AI

After years of civil war, hunger and misery prevail in Syria. Germany once again pledges a lot of money at a donor conference. The EU continues to plan to ease sanctions.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, speaks with the head of foreign policy of the European Union, Kaja Kallas, during a roundtable discussion at the 9th international conference on supporting Syria in the European Council building in Brussels. Photo: Virginia Mayo/AP/dpa

Brussels (dpa) – The international community is providing an additional 5.8 billion euros to alleviate the terrible consequences of the civil war in Syria. Of the amount, 4.2 billion euros are grants and 1.6 billion euros are loans, announced EU Commissioner Dubravka Suica after a donor conference in Brussels.

Germany has once again pledged a large part of the total amount. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Development Minister Svenja Schulze announced a contribution of 300 million euros to support people in Syria and Syrian refugees in neighboring countries.

At last year’s donor conference in Brussels, Germany promised more than one billion euros.

The US government did not make any specific aid pledges at the Brussels conference but merely announced that they would continue to provide selected support. Moreover, it called on other countries to shoulder part of the financial burden that the USA has so far borne.

First Brussels Conference since Assad’s Fall

The ninth edition of the donor conference was the first since the fall of long-time Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad last December. However, hopes for a rapid lasting peace in the country were recently overshadowed by a new wave of violence.

EU maintains relaxation of sanctions

In light of this, the EU wants to maintain its plans to lift sanctions against the country for the time being. If further violence is to be prevented, hope must be given to the people in the country, said the Foreign Affairs Representative Kaja Kallas on Monday after consultations with foreign ministers of the member states in Brussels. For example, access to banking services, sufficient funds for salary payments, and investments are necessary.

The EU is closely monitoring the course of the new Syrian leadership, Kallas added. This particularly concerns how they respond to the recent massacre on the coast and hold those responsible accountable.

Massacres unsettle donor countries

Baerbock said: «Three and a half months after the fall of the Assad regime, the historic chance for a better, more peaceful future and the fear of slipping into new violence and instability are incredibly close for the people in Syria.» The terrible massacres of the Alawites a week ago clearly show how urgently concrete steps towards political inclusion are needed.

After the fall of Assad, the EU states had only decided in February to gradually relax sanctions. Measures in the energy, transport, and banking sectors will be lifted to support rapid economic recovery, reconstruction, and stabilization of the country. There is also hope that hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in the EU and many more in the Middle East can one day return to their homeland.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), that 1.5 million Syrians could already return to their country this year. Additionally, possibly another two million internally displaced Syrians could return to their homes. (March 17)