What changed between the resolution motion and the resolution motion joint

Added:3. Strongly believes that stability in Syria will come from a pluralistic political transition that includes credible representatives of all components of Syrian society and of all geographical areas, that is to say all religious and ethnic communities, women, civil society and peaceful opposition forces; welcomes the caretaker president’s acknowledgement of Syria’s diversity while taking note that the composition of the current interim government is lacking in this regard; underlines the importance of the future government reflecting this plurality and for a future constitutional framework guaranteeing equal rights and access to opportunities for all Syrians, in line with democratic principles, the rule of law, fundamental rights and freedoms, including religious freedom, as upheld by international law, as well as clear and concrete evidence that these rights are respected in national and local decisions;

Removed:8. Calls on the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Member States to consistently speak out against any violation of fundamental freedoms and human rights in Syria by the interim government or other groups;

Added:4. Acknowledges in this regard, the National Dialogue Conference that took place on 25 February 2025 as a starting point for establishing a culture of dialogue for all Syrians; expresses its concern about the exclusion of Kurdish political representatives, as well as the failure to ensure the participation of all segments of Syrian civil society, particularly women; recalls, further, that this dialogue ought to be upheld in order to prevent deepening societal divisions and discord within key segments of Syrian society and further destabilising an already fragile security situation; calls on the interim government to craft a roadmap setting out its plan for carrying out the political transition process and improve transparency in respect of Syrian citizens;

Removed:9. Notes with concern the fragile security situation across Syria, particularly in the coastal area, where revenge killings, kidnappings and sectarian incitement are on the rise; calls on the de facto authorities to rein in violent factions and protect people from violence and ensure their right to live in safety, possibly by involving local communities in providing security;

Added:5. Notes with concern the violent past of factions that toppled the Assad regime and are now participating in government; takes good note of the caretaker President’s declarations of intent, while pledging to monitor the actions of national and local authorities when evaluating further engagement; expresses cautious optimism regarding the behaviour of the caretaker authorities regarding freedom of religion and encourages them to implement further confidence-building measures; calls on the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Member States to consistently speak out against any possible violation of fundamental freedoms and human rights in Syria by the interim government or other groups;

Removed:10. Calls on the de facto Syrian authorities to release all detainees who are not lawfully detained and ensure that every remaining detainee is rapidly brought before an independent judicial body that can assess the legality and necessity of their detention; calls, further, for them to allow independent monitors such as the International Committee for the Red Cross to access all detention centres to monitor conditions and detainee well-being; calls, further, for them to take urgent steps to provide people released from prison with health care, psychosocial support and rehabilitation, and facilitate swift reunions with their families;

Added:6. Is deeply worried by the fragile security situation across Syria, particularly the coastal area, and firmly condemns the retaliatory targeting of the Alawite community based on its perceived association with the Assad regime; calls on the caretaker authorities to rein in all violent factions, including those set to be incorporated within the Syrian army and security forces, protect all civilian citizens from violence and ensure their right to live in safety; calls for prompt, transparent and impartial investigations into all killings and other violations and for those responsible to be held to account, in line with international legal norms and standards; urges the caretaker government to ensure that all military and security appointments are based strictly on professional qualifications, respect for international human rights and humanitarian law, and a commitment to combating terrorism; expresses concern regarding the presence of foreign extremist fighters, including European citizens, among the forces that overthrew the Assad regime, and cautions against integrating them permanently into the Syrian security apparatus; recognises the challenge for orderly state-building linked to the risk of insurgency by armed groups loyal to the former regime; encourages caretaker authorities to organise paramilitary and civilian disarmament;

Removed:11. Endorses the HTS-led rebel offensive’s destruction of the Assad regime’s captagon drug laboratories and the rebels’ efforts to stop drug trafficking, which has negatively affected the whole region for years;

Added:7. Praises the invaluable contribution of civil society, in Syria and abroad, as the legitimate repository and defender of the aspirations of the Syrian people during years of brutal oppression; pays particular tribute to the White Helmets, target of a regime-orchestrated and Russia-backed smear campaign; calls for the EU to increase financial support, especially for Syrian civil society organisations as they adapt to shifting operating conditions, with a focus on promoting civic dialogue, notably between ethnic, cultural and religious communities, to foster pluralism, peaceful coexistence and trust within Syrian society;

Removed:12. Notes that all political and religious groups have expressed their wish to be part of the new Syria and have adopted constructive positions in this regard; firmly believes that the unification of all segments of Syria, including the integration of all armed factions within a national army, require a Syrian-led negotiated solution, including between the de facto authorities and the Kurdish-led authorities; calls for the EU and Member States to use all diplomatic channels to support negotiations to reach a peaceful and stable solution and ensure that the well-being and preservation of economic, social and cultural rights, as well as the gender equality of all Syrians, in particular those living in north-eastern Syria, remain at the centre of negotiations;

Added:8. Stresses the importance of recognising the role of sexualised and gender-based violence in justice and accountability processes, as well as of policies to ensure women’s full participation and representation in political life, as well as their economic empowerment; calls, further, to address specifically the suffering inflicted on children;

Removed:13. Expresses its strong concern about the continuation of military aggression by the Türkiye-SNA alliance in north-eastern Syria, including deadly attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Manbij and Kobani areas, causing a new displacement and putting further strain on a peaceful transition; denounces Türkiye’s unlawful military incursions and occupation of parts of Syria; urges Türkiye to comply with international humanitarian law;

Added:9. Is concerned by the exponential rise of disinformation originating both within Syria and from abroad; warns of the risk of instrumentalisation of communities also by foreign actors; stresses the need for a pluralistic media landscape to flourish and operate free of censorship and under a legally protected freedom of the press; calls for the EU and its Member States to provide funding and capacity-building in this regard;

Removed:14. Condemns Israel’s unlawful military air and ground invasion of southern Syria and its seizing of the demilitarised border zone along the occupied Golan Heights, violating the 1974 armistice agreement, undermining Syria’s sovereignty while further destabilising the region; urges Israel to cease its incursions and occupation of Syrian territory in full compliance with international law;

Added:10. Strongly believes that the success of the Syrian political transition, notably the safeguarding of civil peace and the building of trust in state institutions, hinges on transitional justice and reconciliation as a path to fighting the impunity of all parties responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses; calls for judicial reform to be made an urgent political priority; encourages the Syrian Government to establish an independent transitional justice committee to ensure accountability for past human rights violations committed by all factions, emphasising that military unification cannot be achieved without a credible justice mechanism to build trust among armed groups, including representatives from the southern factions, the SDF and former regime officers;

Removed:15. Urges all foreign powers to respect Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity; calls for an end to external interference in Syria by destabilising actors, including Russia, Iran, Türkiye and their proxies, as well as Israel; calls for the EU and its Member States to use all available diplomatic channels to advocate the stabilisation of Syria, which is in the interest of most countries in the region, and oppose and limit external interference;

Added:11. Calls on caretaker authorities to fully cooperate with competent international instances, including UN mechanisms established specifically for investigating serious crimes in Syria, such as the UN International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, the UN Independent Institution on Missing Persons, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and facilitate their on-site operations; encourages Syria to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and align national legislation accordingly, as well as give the ICC retroactive jurisdiction through a declaration; recognises the irreplaceable contribution of Fareed al-Madhhan (‘Caesar’) to documenting regime crimes, as well as the Syrian Network of Human Rights’ work in tracking disappearances; stresses the importance of these processes now being completed; calls for the EU to support the renewal of the mandate of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria and increase funding for all relevant mechanisms notably in light of US disinvestment;

Removed:16. Commends the interim authorities for intercepting Iranian weapon shipments destined for Hezbollah in Lebanon;

Added:12. Commends the steps taken to fight impunity through universal jurisdiction cases in Germany, France and other Member States, of individuals linked to the Assad regime and Daesh; encourages courts to continue such prosecutions and expects newfound evidence and fruitful cooperation with Syrian authorities to lead to leaps in investigations and convictions;

Removed:17. Highlights the security threat emanating from prisons, detention centres and refugee camps in north-eastern Syria, where people, including jihadist fighters and their families, notably children, are held arbitrarily without due process in extremely poor humanitarian conditions, also increasing the recruitment potential of Daesh; urgently calls on the Member States to continue repatriating their nationals from these facilities;

Added:13. Stresses the need for Syria’s transitional authorities to urgently take all steps to secure and preserve physical evidence of serious international crimes across the country, including through cooperation and engagement with international experts and current international mechanisms, and to grant all competent organisations access to archival documents; encourages the EU to provide support for timely evidence collection on the ground, including forensic equipment and expertise to identify and analyse mass graves, as well as the collection of survivors’ testimonies;

Removed:18. Emphasises the importance of preserving the international coalition against Daesh and for it to cooperate with the Syrian interim government to prevent Daesh and other jihadist groups from reorganising;

Added:14. Highlights that Syria is among the most heavily mine-contaminated countries; is alarmed by the rising number of victims, including children, who have been killed or injured by mines and other explosives, a problem that is further increasing as people start to return; commends efforts by international and local organisations in identifying, marking and clearing explosive ordnance and calls for the EU to urgently support demining efforts jointly with specialised actors and Syrian authorities;

Removed:19. Is alarmed that hundreds of people, including children, have been killed or injured by mines and other explosives since the fall of the Assad regime; commends efforts by international and local organisations in identifying, marking and clearing explosive ordnance, as well as teaching people to stay safe; calls for the EU and the Member States to provide expertise, as well as financial and logistical support, to these initiatives;

Added:15. Reiterates its strongest condemnation of the appalling use of chemical weapons against Syrian civilians by the Assad regime; welcomes the announcement by Syria’s interim government to destroy any remaining stockpiles of chemical weapons in Syria and its openness to cooperate with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons;

Removed:20. Welcomes the announcement by Syria’s interim government to destroy any remaining stockpiles of chemical weapons in Syria and its openness to cooperate with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW); calls for the EU and its Member States to aid efforts to identify, secure and destroy stocks of internationally prohibited weapons, such as chemical weapons, anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions;

Added:16. Appreciates the determination demonstrated by caretaker authorities in discontinuing the production and trafficking of drugs, in particular Captagon, which have negatively affected the whole region for years; encourages international cooperation against the trafficking of drugs, arms and human beings;

Removed:21. Commends the Syrian interim government for holding the promised National Dialogue Conference as a first step towards a political process and future government; expresses its concern about the exclusion of political representatives of Kurds and other groups, as well as the conference’s failure to ensure the participation of all segments of Syrian civil society, particularly women; encourages the Syrian interim government to organise more inclusive and transparent follow-up National Dialogue Conferences, including on the local level, with binding conclusions on personal freedoms and women’s rights; calls on the interim government to craft a roadmap that sets out its plan and vision for a political process, including for the implementation of initiatives announced by the interim government, and improve its communication with the Syrian public;

Added:17. Highlights the importance of protecting Syria’s cultural heritage and calls for international collaboration to restore historical sites and religious landmarks and to prevent the illicit trade in looted artefacts; urges the EU to support Syria in efforts to restore areas and places of cultural significance to the Syrian public and the world, including the UNESCO site of Palmyra after its revolting partial destruction by Daesh in 2015;

Removed:22. Calls on the caretaker government to work on immediate, genuine and profound reforms that ensure the participation of all Syrians, both within Syria and abroad, in designing the transitional phase and the transitional governing body in order to initiate an inclusive constitutional process that is transparent, participatory and formally includes diverse civil society actors, particularly women; highlights Syrian civil society’s demand for a pluralistic and decentralised democratic system, including a law on political parties, that respects the rights of all communities and ethnic, cultural and religious groups in Syria and breaks with the policies of repression and marginalisation;

Added:18. Acknowledges that the Syrian economy is shattered, with considerable investment gaps towards achieving price stability and sustained job creation; calls for all necessary steps to be taken in order to incentivise and facilitate foreign direct investment in accordance with international standards, as well as for reforms addressing housing, land and property rights and policies balancing development across urban and rural areas to reduce regional disparities; encourages economic disentanglement from Russia and Iran after both countries have profited from Syria’s economic collapse to extract resources and control strategic industries;

Removed:23. Calls on the Commission to prioritise financial support for Syrian civil society, particularly women’s initiatives, enabling Syrians to embrace their fundamental role in the country’s political transition and future;

Added:19. Welcomes the gradual and conditional suspension of sanctions on a range of economic sectors and the indefinite extension of humanitarian exemptions; underlines that despite recent adjustments, the EU, US and UK sanctions policies towards Syria are an obstacle to reconstruction efforts; calls on the Commission and the Council to reach out to other countries imposing sanctions on Syria, notably the US and the UK; supports a full yet reversible lifting of all sectoral sanctions, with a focus on the financial sector, so as to provide the Syrian economy a much-needed lifeline, while closely monitoring the political transition process; expects over-compliance to remain an issue as long as extensive US and UK sanctions remain in place, notably due to the former’s extraterritorial dimension; calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide European businesses and banks with legal assurances to counteract over-compliance; calls, nevertheless, for individual sanctions against military personnel, officials, business entities and individuals associated with the Assad family to be maintained; expects the yearly update of the EU sanction regime ahead of its expiration on 1 June 2025 to adequately assess the relevance of all renewed sanctions, allowing for much-needed clarity, and asks the European Council to define and clearly communicate clear steps that Syria’s authorities must carry out, to secure further sanctions easing or prevent the activation of a snapback;

Removed:24. Calls on the Commission to support independent journalists and provide funding and capacity-building for Syrian journalists and media outlets across the country; recognises the importance of reliable information and the fight against disinformation for Syria’s transition;

Added:20. Welcomes the announcement by the Commission to allocate EUR 235 million in new humanitarian support to Syrians and calls for the EU and its Member States to sustain humanitarian and development aid efforts and to maintain financial support for neighbouring countries hosting Syrian refugees; invites the EU to explore pathways to use frozen assets of the Assad regime for a trust fund for Syrian reconstruction, rehabilitation and compensation of victims; is extremely concerned by the suspension of all USAID funding related to Syria or Syrian refugees and by the foreseen non-participation of the US in the next Brussels conference;

Removed:25. Urges Syria’s transitional authorities to immediately take all steps needed to secure and preserve all evidence of serious international crimes across the country in order to give families answers about the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones and provide the crucial bases for accountability and legal processes;

Added:21. Calls for the EU to strategically extend its focus from humanitarian aid to accelerated and early economic recovery and reconstruction in key sectors such as energy, water supply, healthcare and education, in order to reach tangible results while ensuring that programming is accompanied by due diligence and independent monitoring; urges the European Union and its Members States to agree on the joint provision of sustainable funding at the forthcoming Ninth Brussels Conference;

Removed:26. Calls on the Syrian interim government to support all international and local documentation and investigation efforts and, to this end, invite and fully cooperate with the International Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM), the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria and the Independent Institution on Missing Persons, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the OPCW, as well as civil society initiatives documenting and investigating crimes and violations, granting all of them full access to the country and the relevant facilities;

Added:22. Welcomes the decision taken, for example, by France to allow refugees to return to Syria and participate in its reconstruction without jeopardising their status, including for ‘go-and-see’ visits to Syria; calls on the Member States and third countries to urgently replicate this initiative; calls on the Commission to encourage and provide the Member States with guidance and best practice on the implementation of EU law on this issue, including as regards the difference between ‘travel’ and ‘re-establishment’; insists that all asylum status claims and renewals must be assessed individually and thoroughly; stresses the importance of balanced participation in the political transition process of the Syrian diaspora as a key asset for the country’s transition and reconstruction; recognises the importance of remittances alongside official development assistance and urges the Member States to lift any restrictions placed on sending remittances to Syria; recalls, moreover, that according to the UN Refugee Convention, conditions for the safe, voluntary and dignified return of refugees can only be met following fundamental and durable changes in Syria;

Removed:27. Calls for the EU to offer help and expertise in the preservation of evidence and documenting crimes, including financial assistance, technical expertise and capacity-building programmes for Syrians, building on previous experience in the Western Balkans, Colombia and the Central African Republic, in line with the EU’s policy framework on support to transitional justice;

Added:23. Recalls the presence of over 400 000 Palestinian refugees residing in Syria, some of them displaced multiple times, and the role of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in assisting its needs; remembers the siege of the Yarmouk camp by Assadist factions between 2013 and 2015;

Removed:28. Calls for the EU and its Member States to increase financial support for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisation (CSOs) engaged in securing and preserving evidence, documentation, the search for missing persons, forensic analysis and capacity building; recognises the negative impact of the freeze of US aid funding on those efforts; urges the EU and its Member States to agree on the joint provision of sustainable funding at the Brussels Conference on Syria on 17 March 2025;

Added:24. Calls on Syria to break free from its notorious long-standing alliances with Tehran and Moscow, which have brought suffering to the Syrian people and destabilisation to the Middle East and beyond; calls, further, on Syrian authorities to bring the Russian military presence in Syria to an end; condemns Russia for hosting Bashar al-Assad and his family and shielding them from justice, after having obstructed justice by actively interfering in international investigations and vetoing UN Security Council resolutions aimed at addressing the regime’s war crimes and their own;

Removed:29. Calls for the EU to support the renewal of the mandate of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria at the ongoing UN Human Rights Council and increase funding for the IIIM and other current justice initiatives on Syria;

Added:25. Calls on Türkiye and Israel to respect Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and to immediately cease all attacks and incursions on and occupation of Syrian territory in full compliance with international law;

Removed:30. Urges the interim government of Syria to engage in national transitional justice efforts that recognise and address all human rights violations and abuses, regardless of the perpetrator, focus on redress for victims and society, and guarantee the non-recurrence of those human rights violations and abuses; highlights the importance of a victim-based approach and the inclusion of Syrian women’s experiences and perspectives;

Added:26. Firmly believes that the unification of all segments of Syria, including the integration of all armed factions within a national army, require a Syrian-led political solution; calls for the EU and the Member States to use all diplomatic channels to advocate the stabilisation of Syria, which is in the interest of most countries in the region, and support discussions towards a peaceful and stable solution and ensure that the well-being and preservation of fundamental freedoms, economic, social and cultural rights, as well as the gender equality of all Syrians, notably those living in north-eastern Syria, remain at the centre of decisions; welcomes, in this regard, the agreement of 10 March 2025 between de facto President al-Sharaa and SDF Commander in Chief Mazloum Abdi and hopes for its smooth implementation; takes note of the positive result of recent negotiations between Kurdish armed groups in Türkiye and the Turkish Government towards disarmament;

Removed:31. Urges the interim government of Syria to closely consult with civil society on transitional justice mechanisms and allow all segments of Syrian society to shape and actively participate in the national transitional justice process; recognises that the expertise and local knowledge of NGOs and Syrian-led CSOs are essential for successful transitional justice efforts; regrets the fact that a conference on transitional justice set for 27 February 2025, organised by Syrian civil society, had to be cancelled at the last minute;

Added:27. Stresses the importance of the fight led by the international coalition against Daesh, with the invaluable support of Kurdish fighters, and calls for it to cooperate with the Syrian interim government to prevent Daesh and other jihadist groups from reorganising; expresses deep concerns as attacks led or supported by Türkiye in north-eastern Syria not only cause civilian casualties and increase the number of internally displaced persons, but also threaten the efficiency and continuity of the fight against Daesh; urges the caretaker authorities to demonstrate clear commitment to the fight against terrorism and to cooperate with international partners both to fight remaining active cells in Syria and to investigate past crimes, notably against the Yazidi community;

Removed:32. Calls for the EU to make support for transitional justice a priority in its engagement with Syria and offer legal, financial and psychological support to survivors of detention, sexualised and gender-based violence, and torture, while training Syrians to lead these healing processes autonomously;

Added:28. Urgently calls for a lasting solution to be found among all the parties concerned as these camps continue to be breeding grounds for radicalisation and constitute a dormant threat to both Syrian and European security; warns against the serious international security risk a sudden disengagement of the United States in the region would cause in this uncertain context; reiterates its call on the Member States to repatriate all their nationals, especially children, from Al-Hol and Roj and to bring adults to justice in fair trials;

Removed:33. Encourages the Commission to function as a bridge-builder between Syrian civil society outside and inside Syria and create forums for exchanges on their perception and demands for transitional justice; calls, further, on the Commission to strengthen the coordination between Syrian-led CSOs, international bodies and relevant Syrian stakeholders, in order to ensure that Syrian-led CSOs are directly integrated into transitional justice processes; recommends the establishment of knowledge exchange programmes bringing Syrian activists, legal experts and civil society leaders into dialogue with their European counterparts;

Added:29. Calls on the Islamic Republic of Iran to cease all activities aimed at torpedoing the Syrian caretaker government’s political and economic efforts and forcedly altering the status quo; commends the interim authorities for intercepting Iranian weapon shipments destined for Hezbollah in Lebanon and welcomes the complete collapse of Iran’s extensive infrastructure and networks in Syria;

Removed:34. Encourages the Syrian transition government to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), give the court retroactive jurisdiction through a declaration and align national Syrian legislation with the ICC treaty and international law;

Added:30. Welcomes de-facto President al-Sharaa’s pledge to seek peaceful relations with all of Syria’s neighbours; calls on the caretaker Syrian authorities to ensure this commitment is turned into concrete action to prevent and refrain from taking any security-threatening measures against neighbouring countries and beyond;

Removed:35. Encourages the EU, its Member States and their courts to continue prosecuting people suspected of serious crimes in Syria through universal jurisdiction cases;

Added:31. Condemns those European politicians, including current and former MEPs, who have repeatedly spread pro-Assad narratives and actively engaged in whitewashing the bloody dictatorship; expresses deep concern regarding the recent invitation by Parliament’s Intergroup on Christians in the Middle East of organisations closely linked to EU-sanctioned Assadists;

Removed:36. Welcomes the European Council’s decision of 24 February 2025 to suspend EU restrictive measures on key economic sectors and to indefinitely extend the exemption of humanitarian aid from sanctions as a positive step towards alleviating the suffering of millions of Syrians and enabling recovery; calls on the European Council to implement this decision swiftly and ensure that as part of its gradual approach, all other sanctions that negatively impact on humanitarian operations, the economic and social rights of Syrians and their access to basic services, or impact on Syrian financial institutions, are lifted, including all restrictions on the sale of petroleum, the repair of electricity networks and financial transactions from and to Syria; calls on the Member States to put Syrians’ well-being at the top of all sanction-related decisions;

Added:32. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the relevant EU institutions, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the caretaker Syrian government, and to have it translated and published in Arabic.

Removed:37. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to remove all sanctions that isolate the Syrian Central Bank and financial sector and provide European businesses and banks with legal assurances to counteract over-compliance;