Antagonisms in the EU’s neighbourhood: Overcoming strategic deficits with regard to Syria – How the EU can demonstrate resolve and respond to the interests of regional powers

Since 2015, more than one million Syrians have fled their country for Europe. In order to facilitate their voluntary return, a safe and secure environment grounded in a functioning rule of law must first be established in Syria. In targeting this goal, the EU and its member states should combine their foreign policy instruments and examine carefully the details of Russian, Turkish, Iranian, Saudi Arabian, U.S. and Israeli policies toward Syria. In a new policy brief, individual country experts explain how each of these key states operate in the Middle East and identify which interests Europe can assert – and how.