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EU wants to pay Lebanon a billion to stop refugees
May 2, 2024, 4:09 a.m
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Syrian refugees arrive in Cyprus almost every day. The camps on the island are overcrowded, the head of state is sounding the alarm. Now a billion-dollar deal with Lebanon is apparently intended to ensure that people are kept away from Europe. An expert warns of a “big mistake”.
The EU wants to stop the influx of refugees from Syria currently living in Lebanon with financial aid worth around one billion euros. According to EU officials, the EU money will be used to strengthen Lebanon’s health, education and social services. Funds are also earmarked for the country’s security authorities and armed forces, as well as for the fight against smuggling gangs and for economic and financial reforms. According to the plans, legal migration will be made easier.
The support package is due to be announced today during a trip to Lebanon by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulidis. The Cypriot government in particular recently criticized the growing number of Syrian refugees from Lebanon as no longer sustainable and called for EU action.
Cyprus at the edge of its capacity
According to Head of State Christodoulidis, Syrians from Lebanon, about 160 kilometers away, have been arriving by boat in the EU island republic in the eastern Mediterranean almost every day in the past few months. Since the beginning of the year, around 4,000 migrants have already been counted – in the first quarter of the previous year there were only 78. In absolute numbers, this is significantly fewer than, for example, in Italy, Spain and Greece, where boat refugees from countries such as Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Morocco or Turkey arrive. However, relative to its population, nowhere in the EU has as many asylum applications as Cyprus.
The refugee camps on the island are overcrowded. “We are not in a position to take in any more Syrian refugees,” Christodoulidis told the Germany editorial network a few weeks ago. EU Commission chief von der Leyen has therefore promised help. “It is we, the Europeans, who decide who comes to Europe and under what circumstances. And not the organized crime of smugglers and human traffickers,” she said in a speech last Sunday, referring to the agreements that already exist with countries like Tunisia and Egypt. These states should also stop unwanted migration into the EU in return for billions in financial aid.
The amount earmarked for Lebanon is for the period until the end of 2027. The first high three-digit million sum could flow as early as the summer. However, it is questionable whether the EU money will be enough to ease the situation in Lebanon. The country is currently in the worst economic and financial crisis in its history and, with more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees, is one of the countries that have taken in the most refugees per capita in the world.
Syrians no longer feel safe in Lebanon
This has led to an anti-Syrian mood and many refugees no longer dare to go out on the streets for fear of attacks. According to human rights activists, Lebanese officials have been using discriminatory practices against Syrians for years to force them to return to Syria. The human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that in recent months, Lebanese authorities have arbitrarily arrested, tortured and sent Syrians, including opposition activists and army defectors, back to Syria.
The Lebanese rulers are of the opinion that the civil war country is stable and safe enough to guarantee a return. However, the United Nations and other human rights organizations see this differently. They point out that the economic situation makes survival almost impossible and that political refugees have to fear for their lives. In addition, the Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad also does not want the refugees back in his country.
Experts consider EU plans to be illusory
The situation in Lebanon is also politically difficult. In contrast to the authoritarian states of Tunisia and Egypt, the country currently does not even have a head of state. For a year and a half, the election of a president here has repeatedly failed due to power struggles within the political elite. The country is currently led by Prime Minister Najib Mikati. The government is only able to act to a limited extent. This is also why the EU now wants to strengthen the country’s armed forces. They are seen as a stabilizing factor in the country, which borders Syria and Israel – also in view of the activities of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia.
In view of this mixed situation, the EU’s plans are also viewed critically. “The EU is making a big mistake in Lebanon,” says Riad Kahwaji, director of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis. The country has a long history of internal problems, driven by sectarian conflicts, which continue to lead to a power vacuum to this day. Lebanon is in no way prepared to be a receiving country for refugees. The same politicians who are now receiving money from the EU would be on podiums calling for the Syrians to be thrown out of the country. “It is crazy to see that Europeans believe in the illusion that the Lebanese authorities are able to stem the flow of refugees.”