Contextual Background:
After a suspension of more than thirteen years due to the political and security events that took place in the country in 2011, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the restoration of the Syrian Arab Republic’s membership in the Council of the Union for the Mediterranean, a regional organization comprising 43 countries from both shores of the Mediterranean. Founded in 2008 as an extension of the Barcelona Process (1995), the Union aims to activate regional dialogue and enhance cooperation in the fields of energy, education, the green economy, transportation, and youth empowerment.
The Syrian return represents a symbolic political shift that opens up opportunities for regional partnership, but it does not carry any real developmental implications unless it is built on a reform vision and serious institutional work that takes into account Syria’s circumstances and challenges.
Our Analysis of the Event:
From a political-developmental perspective, the Syrian Future Movement believes that returning to the Council has multiple dimensions:
Diplomatically: Initial recognition of Syria’s regional role after years of isolation, as expressed in statements by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and messages of support from European Union Commissioner Kaila Kallas and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.
Developmentally: An opportunity to engage in specialized development programs implemented by EU agencies in renewable energy, urban development, port connectivity, and technical education.
Strategically: The possibility of building an economic-administrative partnership with southern European countries (such as Greece, Italy, and Spain), which have experience in recovery issues, as happened with Lebanon in 2002 after its institutional collapse.
However, the movement warns against limiting this shift to political symbolism without establishing a well-thought-out development vision, as has happened previously in other Arab experiences, such as Libya’s participation in the Union in 2009 without building a real institutional partnership. A research paper published by the Barcelona-based Center for Mediterranean Studies (Mediterranean Dialogue Papers, 2014) indicates that countries that have successfully activated their membership, such as Morocco and Tunisia, have established “national coordination units” and linked the Council’s projects to their ministerial plans.
A study published by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD, 2018) shows that effective participation in the Union is linked to the level of readiness of administrative bodies, not just political decisions.
It would be useful for Syrian decision-makers to look to the Jordanian experience in the “Med-Energy Hub” program since 2016, which demonstrated that small countries can emerge regionally through sustainable investments linked to Union projects, provided good governance is maintained, something that was absent from the previous Syrian experience before the comment. In an interview with Lebanese researcher Rula Abu Zeid, published in Middle East Policy magazine in 2020, she emphasized that “integration into regional systems does not succeed unless accompanied by internal changes in the nature of the state and its developmental function.” We believe the challenges that must be overcome are:
The fragility of Syria’s post-war institutional capacities and the lack of a Mediterranean planning unit within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Development.
The lack of clarity regarding Syria’s vision for sectoral policies aligned with EU priorities, such as digital transformation, the green economy, youth empowerment, and combating climate change.
The lack of participation in formulating Syria’s Mediterranean policy, which is limited to official representation without the involvement of productive sectors and civil society.
The European divergence in dealing with the Syrian issue and the continued imposition of financial and diplomatic restrictions on direct cooperation by some countries, necessitates separating the development process from political differences.
Recommendations and Proposed Policies:
Based on the strategic vision we published on our official website in the “Movement Papers” section, the Syrian Future Movement recommends the following:
- Establishing an independent Syrian-Mediterranean body to manage cooperation within the framework of the Union, overseeing coordination with the Council, preparing project papers, and following up on implementation, and comprising representatives of technical ministries, universities, and national development organizations.
- Preparing a national policy paper entitled “Syria in the Mediterranean: A Cooperative Vision for Development,” to be presented at the next session of the Senior Officials’ Meeting, presenting a ten-year roadmap covering energy, vocational education, agriculture, and maritime transport.
- Activating the principle of community participation through periodic national conferences entitled “Mediterranean Development for Syria,” which discuss cooperation projects and engage youth and technical groups.
- Activating active participation in open Union programs such as “UfM Education for Employability,” “Urban Projects Finance Initiative,” and “Med4Jobs,” which provide funding and technical training to member states.
- Requesting technical support from countries that have successfully transformed membership into development tools, such as Spain (regional councils), Morocco (ecological transition), and Malaysia (participating in clean energy forums—although not a direct member of the Union, it is a dialogue partner in the Asian Mediterranean programs).
Our final position:
The Syrian Future Movement welcomes Syria’s return to the Union for the Mediterranean, considering it a step forward. However, it cannot be completed without a reformist will that addresses regional affiliation as a gateway to national transformation, not merely a diplomatic status quo. It also emphasizes that success is not measured by membership, but rather by the ability to transform it into tools for production, financing, and strengthening Syrian identity as a civil, institutional actor, integrated within its Mediterranean environment. We believe that redefining Syria’s relationship with the Mediterranean requires redefining the role of the state, formulating a development vision that transcends crises, and establishing institutional structures that enable Syria to transition from symbolic membership to a genuine development partnership.
