Outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) speaking with European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi in the Grand Sérail, April 22, 2024. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati told the EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement on Monday that EU aid to Syrian refugees “should be directed toward their repatriation.”
In a meeting with the EU official, Oliver Varhelyi, Mikati said that the EU “must change its policy regarding assistance to Syrian refugees in Lebanon.”
The remarks come amid rising tensions in Lebanon between Lebanese and Syrian nationals. Violence against Syrians has significantly increased since four were arrested for the murder of a Lebanese Forces official, and Lebanese politicians have called for refugees, of which there are around 1.5 million in the country, to return to Syria.
Forced repatriation is dangerous, humanitarian organizations warn, as the war in Syria rages on in some areas and many Syrians who return are faced with conscription, detention, and abuse. More than 4,000 civilians and combatants were killed in Syria in 2023, according to a war monitor.
Still, Mikati told Varhelyi that the EU’s aid "should be directed towards [the refugees’] return to their country," the state-run National News Agency reported.
"If Lebanon does well, Europe will do well — our interests are common," Mikati said. In March, the EU said it was considering making a deal with Lebanon to stem the arrival of migrants from Lebanon to the EU, offering aid in return for stricter security along its maritime border.
According to the prime minister’s press office, another meeting focused on the Syrian migrant issue is scheduled for Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the Grand Serail.
Varhelyi released his own statement, saying that the EU continues to cooperate with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), noting that "the conditions for voluntary, safe and dignified return should be respected in cooperation with the Lebanese authorities."
"The European Council not only made it clear that the EU is ready to maintain its support for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey, but to redouble its efforts to combat human trafficking, smuggling, strengthening border protection and controlling illegal migration," Varhelyi said.
With an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, it is the country with the highest number of refugees per capita in the world. Around 800,000 Syrian refugees are registered with the UN, but their exact number is unknown, largely due to the fact that in 2015, the Lebanese government asked the UNHCR to stop registering them. Last year, the Lebanese authorities called on UNHCR to provide them again with this data.
Varhelyi said the European Council wanted to "contribute to the stability and security of Lebanon by providing additional support to the Lebanese armed forces, the army, and other bodies that contribute to the security and stability of the region."
According to the commissioner, the EU is establishing a set of “permanent support measures,” meant to “sustain Lebanon’s stability and security.” He said he hopes the plans will be finalized soon and announced when the president of the commission visits Lebanon.