Syria: the 27 call on Russia and China to make an effort (update)

March 2, 2012September 11, 2023 Nicolas Gros Verheyde

(BRUSSELS2, European summit) For want of anything better, the Heads of State and Government - meeting at the European Summit in Brussels on Friday (2 March) - have in their conclusions, which will be published shortly, once again asking the President Assad of " leave power to make way for a peaceful transition process ". They also call on the Syrian authorities to " immediately stop the massive violence and human rights abuses against the civilian population”, from " facilitate access to independent humanitarian agencies so that aid can be distributed according to humanitarian principles », that is to say without distinction of the status or position of the person, in a neutral and impartial way. And, above all, they call all members of the Security Council”, specifically naming the “ Russia and Syria, to work together to stop the violence ».

The Syrian National Council recognized

The 27 also endorse the decision of their foreign ministers to recognize the Syrian National Council as " a legitimate representative of the Syrians » and calls « all members of the opposition to unite in a peaceful struggle for a new Syria ". The European Union also supports the “efforts of the Arab League” without expressing an express opinion in favor of the deployment of a peacekeeping force.

The announcement of new sanctions

The 27 also show themselves determined " at " further increase the pressure on the Syrian regime as long as the violence and human rights violations continue”. Since the beginning of the crisis, the Europeans have already taken, on twelve occasions, a series of sanctions against people (freeze of assets and ban on visas) or with an economic tone (central bank, transactions, minerals, etc.). They plan to adopt new ones. The European Council thus asked the Ministers for Foreign Affairs to prepare new restrictive measures targeted against the regime”.

Research criminals and evidence

The European Council has expressed its determination "to hold accountable those responsible for the atrocities committed in Syria" and the European Union has stated that it wants to "work in close collaboration with those who seek to gather information necessary on these crimes" and their " will help." It should be noted that the EU has already provided technical assistance to the mission of Arab League observers. This paragraph was detailed during the discussions of the European Summit, the United Kingdom and Denmark having insisted on having more details, particularly in the European commitment to the search for evidence.

The humanitarian instrument

The 27 also announced their intention “ to increase the amount (humanitarian aid) as soon as conditions on the ground allow humanitarian organizations to scale up their relief operations ". The EU has already used the humanitarian instrument, but in a rather limited way: 3 million euros by the European Commission and 5 million euros by the Member States.