The European Union welcomed the end of a “cruel dictatorship” in Syria, but also fears a scenario “Libyan style” which would cause chaos and a new migration crisis.
Following the fall of the Bashar Al Assad regime on Monday, December 9, several European countries expressed their desire to review their asylum policy for Syrian refugees.
► France plans to suspend asylum applications
The French Interior Ministry said “working on a suspension of ongoing asylum cases from Syria”after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime this weekend. “A decision should be reached in the coming hours”indicated the same source.
In 2023, more than 4,000 asylum requests from Syrian nationals were registered in France, according to the latest figures from the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) responsible for examining the requests.
► Germany freezes asylum procedures
Germany, the EU country which hosts the largest Syrian diaspora, has suspended decisions on ongoing asylum requests from Syrian exiles following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the minister announced from the German interior.
Given “current uncertainty”the Federal Office for Immigration and Refugees has “today decreed a freeze on decisions for asylum procedures currently still underway” Syrian migrants, said Nancy Faeser.
The current situation in Syria, however, remains “very confused”added the Minister of the Interior. According to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, 974,136 people of Syrian nationality currently reside in Germany.
► The United Kingdom pauses the examination of asylum applications
The British Home Office announced that it had “temporarily paused” the examination of asylum applications from Syrians in the United Kingdom, “time to assess the current situation” after the fall of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
► Austria prepares an “expulsion program”
The Austrian authorities have announced that they are suspending asylum requests from refugees from this country and are preparing “an expulsion program”.
“From now on, all ongoing procedures will be stopped”the Interior Ministry said in a statement, as nearly 100,000 Syrians live in Austria and thousands have applied for asylum there.
► Sweden reviews residence permits
The Swedish government will re-examine applications for residence permits from Syria, announced the leader of the Sweden Democrats (SD, far right) Jimmy Akesson.
“I see that groups here in Sweden welcome this development. You should see this as a good opportunity to return home”she declared to Syrians residing in Sweden, who had gathered by the hundreds in Stockholm on Sunday December 8 to celebrate the fall of Bashar Al Assad.
Sweden is the second country within the EU to have received the highest number of Syrians fleeing civil war in 2015 and 2016, after Germany. Of the 162,877 asylum seekers in 2015, 51,338 came from Syria, according to figures from the Swedish statistics authority SCB.
► Greece hopes for refugees to return home
Greece, through which many Syrian refugees have passed, hopes that the overthrow of Bashar Al Assad will ultimately allow “the safe return of Syrian refugees” in their country, the government spokesperson said on Monday.
“The transition to democratic normality makes us cautiously optimistic”underlined Pavlos Marinakis during a regular press briefing, welcoming “the fall of the authoritarian Assad regime” but without speaking directly about the Islamist group HTS which overthrew him.
According to the Migration Ministry, more than 15,000 Syrians currently hold residence permits in Greece.
► Denmark suspends the processing of files
In Denmark, the Refugee Appeals Board “decided to suspend the processing of files concerning people coming from Syria due to the very uncertain situation in the country after the fall of the Assad regime”she wrote in a press release. The decision currently concerns 69 cases, she said.
She also has “decided to extend the departure deadline for people eligible to be deported to Syria”which concerns 50 cases, she said.
In the summer of 2020, Denmark became the first country in the European Union to re-examine hundreds of Syrian refugee cases on the grounds that “the current situation in Damascus is no longer likely to justify a residence permit or its extension”. In fact, there has been no forced return of Syrian refugees to Syria.
► Norway suspends examination of files
For its part, Norway has also decided to suspend the examination of Syrian refugee files, pending a stabilization of the situation. “The situation in the country remains very unclear and unresolved”writes the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI).
Norway has received 1,933 asylum applications from Syrians since the start of the year.