Why is Europe suspending asylum applications in Syria after the fall of al-Assad? | News

“Oh schaffen das!” or “We can do it!” said former German Chancellor Angela Merkel nine years ago, when she announced that Germany and Europe have the capacity to offer asylum to people seeking asylum.

At the time, his words gave hope to hundreds of thousands of Syrians fleeing the 13-year civil war, seeking refuge in Europe.

But today, Merkel’s policy of opening an open door to asylum seekers, especially Syrians, has changed Europe.

Days after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, countries across the continent – including Germany, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Sweden, Denmark and the United Kingdom – have all announced plans to freeze asylum applications from Syrians seeking asylum. to be sheltered. . This includes both new and pending applications.

On Monday, Filippo Grandi, head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), called for “patience and vigilance”. In a statement, he said the organization “hopes that developments in the world will evolve in a positive way, allowing voluntary, safe and sustainable returns to finally happen – with refugees able to make informed decisions.”

So what is the reason for European countries to stop asylum applications in Syria?

How many Syrians want asylum in Europe?

Since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011, the United Nations reports that at least 7.4 million Syrians have been displaced, with an estimated 4.9 million seeking refuge in neighboring countries. Another 1.3 million have settled elsewhere, mostly in Europe.

According to the mid-year review released by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) in September, of all the 513,000 asylum applications received by EU countries in 2024, “Syrians continued to make the most applications in the first half of the year” . Their asylum applications represent 14 percent of the total number of applications – an increase of seven percent compared to the same period in 2023.

The EUAA report also highlighted that around 101,000 Syrian asylum applications are still pending in EU countries.

Meanwhile in the UK, according to the country’s Home Office, more than 27,000 Syrians have sought asylum since the start of the civil war, and 90 percent of applications have been approved. However, 6,502 Syrian asylum applications are still pending as of September 2024.

What does it mean to ‘pause’ asylum applications?

After the fall of al-Assad, some EU countries announced a “suspension” in the processing of asylum applications while dealing with the situation inside Syria, they said.

Foreign leaders of the 27-member body will meet later this month to discuss a joint response.

In the UK, which left the EU following the 2016 Brexit referendum, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper noted that the situation in Syria was moving very quickly. “And that is why, like Germany, like France, and like other countries, we have suspended asylum decisions on cases from Syria while the Home Office reviews and monitors the situation,” he said.

Bram Frouws, director of the Geneva-based think tank Mixed Migration Centre, told Al Jazeera that pausing asylum applications “actually means that Syrians who are still in crisis and waiting for a decision will be confused for a long time”.

“Knowing that there is a large space for shelter for many [European] in countries, this adds uncertainty to many. It also means that those who arrive now, and cannot apply for asylum, will have to wait a long time for a decision to be made,” he added.

Currently, there is no change in the status of those who have been granted asylum in European countries.

Which EU countries do what?

In Germany

Currently in Germany, which has taken in over a million Syrian refugees, the suspension of processing Syrian asylum applications will affect the 47,770 applications already in the process. The country has not yet announced plans to start deporting Syrians.

On Monday, after Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) announced the decision to suspend the program, the leader of Bavaria’s conservative Christian Social Union, Markus Soder, said it was “the right decision”.

In Austria

In Austria, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said visa programs for family reunification of Syrians – both new applications and those still being processed – would also be suspended.

Austria also announced plans to deport Syrian immigrants. “I have instructed the ministry to prepare a systematic plan for the return and deportation from Syria,” Karner told Austrian media, although he did not specify which people would be sent back. About 100,000 Syrians live in Austria, according to data from the Austrian government.

Denmark

Denmark, which has said it considers Syria “safe” as of 2019, has long sought ways to stop Syrian asylum seekers. After the fall of the regime, it also said it was suspending 69 asylum cases for the time being. It added that it now plans to start deporting Syrians, regardless of whether they have received asylum or not.

Norway, Italy and Belgium

Norway, Italy and Belgium have all made announcements that they will freeze new claims and suspend existing claims that are still being processed.

Frouws noted that conditions have changed significantly with the fall of al-Assad. His regime was the main reason for protecting the Syrians who had fled their country.

“We have seen the celebrations of the Syrian people abroad, many expressing their intention to return, and we have seen the return of small people from the neighboring countries of Lebanon and Turkey. In that way, it is understandable that countries re-evaluate the situation,” said Frouws.

However, decisions are being made to stop asylum applications “prematurely” he said. “It is too early to see how the situation will develop … the way European countries are scrambling to stop the processing of asylum applications, or to start negotiations on the return of those who have already received protection is disappointing,” said Frouws.

He said the decisions indicate the determination of European countries to return Syrian refugees to Syria.

“It shows some hypocrisy,” he said. “A few days ago, some states thought it was okay to send people back to Syria while the Assad regime was still there. And since he’s gone, they also think it’s okay to bring people back, which seems to indicate that no matter what the circumstances are, the goal is coming back.”

Does Europe consider Syria ‘safe’?

When it comes to seeking asylum, the EUAA determines that countries are safe if they do not meet the “needs to protect their people” or in countries where “asylum seekers are safe and not in danger”.

However, the EU currently maintains that Syria is not safe for people to return to.

“Currently, we maintain, in line with UNHCR, that the conditions have not been met for a safe, voluntary and dignified return to Syria,” a European Commission spokesperson told reporters in Brussels on Monday.

The spokesman added, however, that “most Syrians in the diaspora dreamed of returning to their homeland” and that returning or not should be a family and individual decision.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said much depends on what happens next in the country and the return of people from Syria “may be a reverse flow and may increase the numbers using dangerous migration routes to Europe and the United Kingdom”.

“At this time of chaos and change, countries must avoid putting Syrian refugees and asylum seekers in situations of uncertainty and uncertainty,” Eve Geddie, Europe director at Amnesty International, told Al Jazeera.

“In accordance with international law and refugee protection standards, asylum applications must be processed quickly and efficiently,” she said. “European countries must also continue to look at the circumstances of each individual asylum seeker. They must immediately reverse decisions to freeze Syrian asylum applications and reject calls to return Syrians or to restrict family reunification.”

What do Syrian refugees think Europe should be doing now?

Ahmad Helmi, originally from Damascus and now living in the Netherlands, told Al Jazeera that he was disappointed by the decision of some EU countries to freeze asylum applications.

“Their first reaction should have been, ‘How can we support the democratic transition in Syria and create peace in the country?’ rather than announcing a halt to asylum applications,” said Helmi, who has been granted asylum in the Netherlands.

Helmi became one of the many victims of “enforced disappearance” in Syria and now he is with Ta’afi, an initiative to support and protect victims of enforced disappearance in Syria.

“It has a certain hypocrisy to it, you know, because Europe and the rest of the West for the last few decades have been teaching the whole world about democracy, prosperity and the rule of law,” he said. “And now when we bring down the state in our country. We had a few supporters and a few partners from around the world, of course. Europe only thinks about stopping immigration and asylum instead of seeking democracy. “

“I want the international community right now to focus on having an emergency to support Syria based on a real and reasonable plan for temporary reforms,” ​​said Helmi. “Without an interim justice process, peace will not last.”