(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 13 - Following the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, several European countries suspended asylum decisions for Syrian citizens. How are the EU authorities reacting to this development, and will they decide to establish diplomatic relations with the group that says it is in charge now but is currently subject to EU sanctions? New circumstances.
    Several European countries stopped processing asylum applications from Syrian citizens following the new circumstances created by the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, although the situation in the country remains uncertain and tense.
    Islamist rebels from the Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group launched an offensive against government troops in late November. Last weekend the HTS and its allies swept into the capital Damascus, ending more than five decades of brutal rule by the Assad family. Bashar al-Assad took over as president of Syria in 2000 after the death of his father Hafiz Assad, who had ruled the country since 1971.
    The collapse of Assad clan's half-century regime follows a thirteen-year civil war sparked by a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests. The conflict cost more than 500,000 lives and forced half of the country's pre-war population of 23 million people to flee their homes, many millions of them abroad.
    According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) data, displaced Syrians have requested asylum in more than 130 countries around the world, although the vast majority live in neighbouring countries within the region: Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and especially Türkiye, where there are about three million Syrians.
    Figures released on Wednesday by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) show that more than 100,000 asylum applications from Syrian citizens were pending across the EU at the end of October, with applications frozen in multiple member states following the fall of Assad.
    EU countries suspend Syrian asylum Although Europe is not the main destination for displaced Syrians, there are countries that have been hosting these nationals for years, such as Germany, where they arrived en masse in the middle of the last decade, reaching almost one million.
    Germany's decision to pause asylum proceedings affects more than the 47,000 people from Syria in Germany. In their applications the civil war and current political situation in Syria would be major factors in deciding whether the applicants should receive asylum or not, according to a spokesperson of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).
    A deputy spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, Sonja Kock, indicated that "there is the possibility of lowering the priority of asylum decisions", an option that the BAMF can resort to in unclear situations, such as the current one in Syria. It means that asylum decisions are not resolved but are placed back at the bottom of the pile and other asylum decisions are prioritized, she said.
    For its part, the French government has followed other European countries in deciding to freeze the asylum process. "We have decided to adopt a measure inspired by the German one," confirmed a source from the French Foreign Office.
    The Italian government also joined the countries suspending asylum applications late on Monday.
    Countries such as Austria (almost 15,000 applicants according to UNHCR data for 2024) and non-EU member Switzerland (just under 500) have also frozen applications in light of the new developments. Switzerland receives several hundred asylum applications from Syrian citizens every year, with 2015 being the year in which these reached their highest number, exceeding 4,700.
    Belgium (more than 4,000 applicants) has also suspended the processing of asylum applications from Syrians. The country's authorities want more clarity on the future course of Syria and the risks for possible returns to the country. "Refugee status is not necessarily forever. If the situation in Syria improves sustainably, I will ask the CGRS (the service responsible for processing applications) to review the refugee status of Syrians who arrived here in the last five years," said Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor.
    In the Netherlands the cabinet is imposing a six-month decision freeze on asylum applications from Syrians. This was announced by Minister of Asylum and Migration Marjolein Faber in a letter to the House of Representatives. Syrians whose applications are rejected will not be sent back.
    On Tuesday, the immigration authorities of Finland, Sweden, Denmark and non-EU member Norway have joined other European countries and have announced that they are stopping the processing of asylum applications from Syrian citizens, in response to the overthrow of the authoritarian regime of Bashar al-Assad.
    Denmark's Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who politically belongs to the S&D group, but often stands alone among European Social Democrats with her stance on immigration policy, expects Syrians to return home to rebuild their country after the fall of Assad's regime."If I was forced to flee Denmark, I would have a burning desire to return. This is my country, my language and where my family has lived for generations," said Frederiksen.
    (continues).
    (The content is based on news by agencies participating in the enr, in this case AFP, ANP, ANSA, Belga, BTA, CTK, dpa, EFE, Europa Press, Lusa, STA, Tanjug). (ANSA).