EU pledges more than €3 billion in support to Syrian people

The European Union and its Member States pledge more than €3 billion to assist the Syrian people inside Syria as well as refugees and the communities hosting them in the neighbouring countries for the period 2016 and 2017.

At the London-based international conference 'Supporting Syria and the Region', the European Union and its Member States have pledged more than €3 billion to assist the Syrian people inside Syria as well as refugees and the communities hosting them in the neighbouring countries for the period 2016 and 2017. The pledge triples EU support offered at the last donor conference in Kuwait on 31 March 2015.

The announcement was made by both the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk and High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini who represent the EU alongside Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement and Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management. 

High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini said: "As the European Union, we share with the entire international community the responsibility to save Syria, for the sake of its citizens and the whole region. That's why we bring proposals to further step up our existing engagement of the last five years, when the EU has already been the leading donor on the Syria crisis.”

The conference 'Supporting Syria and the Region' , hosted by the United Kingdom with Germany, Norway, Kuwait and United Nations, takes place in the context of increased international efforts to find a political solution to the Syria conflict. It takes a different approach from previous pledging conferences, as it also seeks to address the longer-term stabilisation of Syria and neighbouring refugee/hosting countries.

The Syria conflict soon entering its sixth year has become the world's worst humanitarian disaster: 18 million people are in need of assistance, 6.5 million are internally displaced in Syria and 4.6 million Syrians have been forced to flee to neighbouring countries.

The EU has been the leading donor in the international response to the Syria crisis, collectively with Member States providing over €5billion in humanitarian, development, economic and stabilisation assistance. The EU's support goes both to Syrians in their country and to refugees and their host communities in neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.

The EU's objective is to bring an end to the conflict and enable the Syrian people to live in peace in their own country. The EU is a full member and active participant in the International Syria Support Group. It fully supports theUN-led process, notably the efforts of the UN Special Envoy for Syria.

Related Links

Press conference - EU pledges more than €3 billion for Syrians in 2016 at the London conference

Factsheet - EU support in response to the Syrian crisis

Intervention by President Donald Tusk at the London Supporting Syria and the Region conference

Remarks by High Representative / Vice-President Federica Mogherini at the 'Supporting Syria and the Region' conference

Remarks by Commissioner Christos Stylianides at the "Inside Syria" event during the Support Syrians Conference

بيان صحفي من المفوضية الأوروبية حول تعهد الاتحاد ودوله الأعضاء بأكثر من 3 مليارات يورو لدعم السوريين واللاجئين والمجتمعات المضيفة في مؤتمر لندن لعامي 2016 و2017.