In Syria, EU official announces 235 mn euro aid package

EU crisis management chief Hadja Lahbib announced a 235 million euro aid package for Syria and neighbouring countries on Friday during the first visit by a senior EU official since Bashar al-Assad’s ouster.

The trip comes two weeks after foreign ministers from France and Germany visited, calling for a peaceful, inclusive transition, amid a flurry of diplomatic activity by countries seeking to engage with war-torn Syria’s new authorities.

“I come here to announce a new package of humanitarian aid of 235 million euros ($242 million) in Syria and in neighbouring countries,” Lahbib told a press conference in Damascus after meeting Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

“Our funding will contribute to basic needs like shelter, food, clean water, sanitation, health care, education and emergencies among others,” she said.

Neighbouring countries have taken in millions of Syrian refugees over the years.

“We count on the authorities to ensure unrestricted and safe access for humanitarian actors to all regions of Syria including those in hard-to-reach and conflict-affected areas” in the east, Lahbib added.

Sharaa’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led the rebel offensive that ousted Assad on December 8.

An interim government has been appointed to steer the country until March 1.

HTS, which has roots in the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, has sought to reassure minorities that they will not be harmed and that the rule of law will be respected.

“We are at a turning point and the decisions that will be taken in the coming days and months will be crucial,” Lahbib said.

SANCTIONS

Her meetings were also expected to focus on the future of the sweeping economic sanctions that the 27-nation bloc imposed on Syria during Assad’s rule.

The transitional government has been lobbying to have the sanctions lifted, but some European governments have been hesitant, wanting time to see how the new authorities exercise their power.

“We want to see a bright future for Syria and for that, we need to see the rule of law being respected, human rights, women’s rights,” Lahbib said.

“What I’ve heard from the mouth of the current authorities (is) really encouraging… Now we need action.

“Let’s help Syria but without being naive,” she said.

EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss proposals to ease some measures at a meeting in Brussels on January 27 but Lahbib warned: “We will need unanimity to lift the sanctions”.