Syria - European Commission
European Neighbourhood Policy And Enlargement Negotiations
Syria
The EU suspended all its bilateral cooperation with the Government of Syria in May 2011, following the escalation of violence and unacceptable human rights situation. In parallel, the EU adopted various restrictive measuresSearch for available translations of the preceding link•••(sanctions). Syria’s participation in regional programmes was suspended in September 2011 and the provision of loans and technical assistance through the European Investment Bank (EIB) was ceased in November 2011. Given the volatile situation, there is no multi-annual programming of EU assistance in Syria. Nevertheless, the EU maintains a direct support to the Syrian population, both inside Syria and in the neighbouring countries.
Current EU Assistance to the Syrian Population - key figures
The EU and its Member States are the largest contributors to the international response to the Syrian conflict, having mobilised since 2011 almost EUR 10.8 billion for humanitarian, stabilisation and resilience assistance to those affected by the conflict inside Syria and in the region (Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey). €1.05 billion is dedicated to assistance inside Syria, both humanitarian (66.8%) and non-humanitarian (33.2%).
On 16 March 2015, the Council adopted the EU regional strategy for Syria, Iraq and the Da'esh threat. Since that date, the EU revises the strategy on a yearly basis and keeps implementing it as set out last in the 16 April 2018 Council conclusions.
European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI)
The European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) is one of the main EU financial instruments to address the medium to longer term needs of the population affected by the crisis. In Syria, it aims at supporting the resilience of the Syrian people and at paving the way for transition and post-conflict recovery. Assistance is provided in sectors such as education, support to livelihoods, civil society capacity building, health and cultural heritage preservation. ENI support is provided, as much as feasible, all over Syria and delivered through United Nations Organisations, international NGO's and EU Member States agencies, in complementarity to humanitarian aid.
€268.6 million have been mobilised from ENI for inside Syria since the start of the conflict in 2011.
The EU Regional Trust Fund in response to the Syrian crisis
Since 2015, a significant proportion of non-humanitarian aid to help Syria’s neighbours coping with the refugee crisis has been channeled through the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis. The Trust Fund has brought about a more rapid and integrated EU response to the crisis, merging various EU financial instruments and contributions from EU Member States and other donors into one single flexible and responsive mechanism. Its main focus is supporting the resilience needs of both host communities and Syrian refugees, which include access to education and training, as well as to livelihoods, health and water, sanitation and hygiene. The Fund has reached a total volume of €1.5 billion and to date. The bulk of the EUTF comes from the EU budget (89.3 %) followed by EU member states (9%) and Turkey (1.7%)
Other financing instruments
The EU has also mobilised about €753.6 million of humanitarian assistance to the population affected by the Syrian crisis inside Syria.
Other EU thematic instruments in responding to the crisis inside Syria are:
The European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) (€16.1 million) for support to human rights, accountability and independent media
The Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP)(€73.8 million) for support regarding service provision, local governance, transitional justice and mediation/peace-building
The Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) (€15.9 million) for actions targeting resilience in the agricultural sector.
Syrian students also remain eligible to benefit from the Erasmus+ programme.
Past Cooperation Programmes
EU-Syria cooperation was governed by a Cooperation Agreement signed in 1977. Negotiations on an Association Agreement were concluded in October 2004, but the Agreement was never signed or ratified.
Prior to the suspension of the assistance, the axes of the EU's bilateral cooperation with Syria under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) (2007-2013) were laid down in a Country Strategy Paper for Syria 2007-13 and focused on support to reforms in the political, administrative, economic and social sectors.
A €129 million budget was allocated to implement the National Indicative Programme for 2011-13 but activities were suspended in 2011.This amount was re-allocated to respond to the consequences of the crisis on the Syrian population.
More details on projects supported in Syria:
https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/syria/593/eu-funded-projects-syria_en
For specific information (programme level), see below.
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