In Syria, fighting continues between a wide variety of parties, and Syrian and Russian forces continue their relentless bombardments. Large parts of the population still lack essential food and medical supplies as a direct result of President Assad’s refusal to allow in (EU-funded) international organisations and NGOs carrying essential humanitarian supplies.

This week the EU hosts a conference on the future of Syria and the region. At the same time, Russia, Turkey and Iran are dictating the terms on the ground, and the US seems increasingly focused on a military victory over the so-called Islamic State.

The EU is the largest humanitarian donor for Syria, but has become marginalised in political negotiations. By initiating this conference, the EU illustrates its readiness to take up a significant part of Syria’s reconstruction. Yet it has to tread carefully. Jumpstarting a large-scale reconstruction programme without a mutually consented political solution under UN auspices could become an implicit endorsement of Assad’s control over Syria, and hence a betrayal to the aspirations of large parts of Syria’s civil society.

The EU should now leverage its role as the largest financial donor, to demand a say in any negotiations on the political transition and future of Syria. Eagerly giving financial support to a Syria in which Russia’s President Putin and Assad dictate the political terms would undermine its credibility.

Under any development or political agreement, chances of a strong central government returning to Syria are small, and the various parts and regions of Syria are likely to claim or receive a certain degree of self-autonomy. Syrian civil society should therefore be closely involved in any endeavours for the future of Syria. Only by empowering the population can the political trust and stability Syria so desperately needs be created.

Marietje Schaake MEP, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group (ALDE)

Arnaud Danjean MEP, European People’s Party group (EPP)

Urmas Paet MEP, ALDE

Petras Austrevicius, MEP, ALDE

Alyn Smith MEP, Greens/European Free Alliance

Jacek Saryusz-Wolski MEP

Tunne Kelam, MEP, EPP

Jordi Solé i Ferrando MEP, Greens/European Free Alliance group

Bart Staes MEP, Greens/European Free Alliance

Eugen Freund MEP, Socialists and Democrats group (S&D)

Csaba Sogor MEP, EPP

Hilde Vautmans MEP, ALDE

Charles Goerens MEP, ALDE

Ana Gomes MEP, S&D

Gerard Deprez MEP, ALDE

Matthijs van Miltenburg MEP, ALDE

Sophie in t Veld MEP, ALDE

Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy MEP, ALDE

Hans van Baalen MEP, ALDE

Beatriz Becerra MEP, ALDE

Maite Pagazaurtundúa MEP, ALDE

Pier Antonio Panzeri MEP, S&D

Edouard Martin MEP, S&D

Izaskun Bilbao Barandica MEP, ALDE

Nessa Childers MEP, S&D

Kaja Kallas MEP, ALDE

Nathalie Griesbeck MEP, ALDE

Terese Gimenez Barbat, MEP, ALDE

Lieve Wierinck MEP, ALDE

Kati Piri MEP, S&D

Neena Gill MEP, S&D

Pavel Telicka MEP, ALDE

Pascal Durand MEP, Greens/European Free Alliance

Reform party 30 member party faction in the Estonian parliament

Sjoerd Sjoerdsma Member of the Dutch parliament, D66

Tom Brake MP, Liberal Democrats

Baroness Lindsay Northover MP, Liberal Democrats

Juan Carlos Girauta Member of the Spanish parliament, Ciudadanos

Melisa Rodriguez Member of the Spanish parliament, Ciudadanos

Fernando Maura Member of the Spanish parliament, Ciudadanos

Simonas Gentvilas Member of the Lithuanian parliament, Liberal Movement

Gintaras Vaičekauskas Member of the Lithuanian parliament, Liberal Movement

Vitalijus Gailius Member of the Lithuanian parliament, Liberal Movement

Christophe Premat Member of the Assemblée Nationale, France, Parti Socialiste

Omid Nouripour Member of the Bundestag, Alliance ’90/Greens

Franziska Brantner Member of the Bundestag, Germany, Alliance ’90/Greens

Roderich Kiesewetter Member of the Bundestag, CDU/CSU

Christoph Strässer Member of the Bundestag, SPD

Stefan Wallin Member of the Finnish parliament, Swedish People’s Party, former defence minister of Finland

Eva Biaudet Member of the Finnish parliament, Swedish People’s Party

Mats Nylund Member of the Finnish parliament, Swedish People’s Party

Anders Adlercreutz Member of the Finnish parliament, Swedish People’s Party

Anna-Maja Henriksson Member of the Finnish parliament, Swedish People’s Party

Veronica Rehn-Kivi Member of the Finnish parliament, Swedish People’s Party

Mats Löfström, Member of the Finnish Parliament, Åland Centre Party

Thomas Blomqvist Member of the Finnish parliament, Swedish People’s Party

André Bauler Member of the Luxembourg parliament, Demokratesch Partei

Gusty Graas Member of the Luxembourg parliament, Demokratesch Partei

Monika Rosa Member of the Sejm, Poland, Nowoczesna

Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus Member of the Sejm, Poland, Nowoczesna

Katarzyna Lubnauer Member of the Sejm, Poland, Nowoczesna

Paulina Hennig-Kloska Member of the Sejm, Poland, Nowoczesna

Adam Szłapka Member of the Sejm, Poland, Nowoczesna

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• The list of signatories beneath this letter was amended on 4 April 2017 to note that Jordi Solé i Ferrando is in the Greens/European Free Alliance group, not the Socialists and Democrats group (S&D) as originally stated; and that Simonas Gentvilas is a member of the Lithuanian parliament, not the Spanish parliament.



