At a pivotal moment for Syria’s transition, the European Union hosted a ‘Standing with Syria’ conference in Brussels, pledging €2.5 billion for 2025 and 2026 to aid Syria’s transition process.
Amid renewed hope and significant challenges after the fall of the Assad regime, the EU alongside EU Member States, regional and international partners, as well as Syria’s transitional authorities, reaffirmed its support for an inclusive, peaceful, Syrian-owned and Syrian-led transition.
“Of course, the path to reconciliation and recovery is still long,” said Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, “but for the first time in decades, Syria’s hope can become reality. Syria can become a country where everyone can speak their mind. With equal rights and representation for all – men and women alike, beyond faith, ethnicity and ideology. A country with no place for sectarian violence.”
Demonstrating the EU’s ongoing support, Ms von der Leyen announced that the EU is committing nearly €2.5 billion for 2025 and 2026 to aid Syria’s transition process and the country’s socio-economic recovery, while also addressing the urgent humanitarian needs, both within Syria and in the host communities across Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Türkiye.
For 2025, the EU increased its pledge made at the eighth Brussels Conference, from €560 million to €720.5 million, to support the population inside Syria, as well as Syrian refugees and vulnerable host communities across Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Additionally, the EU committed €600 million for 2026 for these countries; and pledged €1.1 billion to support Syrian refugees and vulnerable host communities in Türkiye for 2025 and 2026.
The ministerial event featured a political session chaired by High Representative/Vice-President Kaja Kallas and two pledging sessions chaired successively by Commissioner Hadja Lahbib and Commissioner Dubravka Šuica.
Members of Syria’s civil society participated in the Conference, offering invaluable insights from the ground. The conference also served as a platform to reaffirm the EU’s commitment to safeguard a prominent and inclusive role for civil society — in all its diversity — in the post-Assad Syria.
The aim of the conference was to foster efficiency and coordination among international partners and UN entities, ensuring that assistance meaningfully supports Syria’s socio-economic recovery – an effort that must be both Syrian-led, and Syrian-owned.
