Swiss justice minister discusses plight of Syrian migrants in Brussels
A woman waves an Syrian opposition flag in celebration days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government in Damascus, on December 12, 2024.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Swiss justice minister discusses plight of Syrian migrants in Brussels
Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans met his European counterparts in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the situation of Syrian asylum-seekers in Europe. Jans called for coordinated action by European states.
Jans told reporters in Brussels that it was time to help Syrians rebuild their country. “We must not disappoint the great hope that is there now. European countries must try to establish democracy there,” he declared.
It is also about preventing other people from leaving Syria and possibly seeking protection in Europe, Jans acknowledged.
The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) announced at the beginning of the week that asylum procedures underway in Switzerland for people from Syria had been suspended. This concerns around 500 cases in Switzerland. In Europe, 15 countries have taken a similar decision, Jans noted.
Around 4,000 Syrians are in Switzerland hold temporary residence status.
“If a return is reasonably possible, we will lift this status and discuss the matter with these people,” said the Swiss minister, adding that Switzerland would support Syrians who wished to return voluntarily.
More
More
Fall of Assad: Switzerland calls for reconciliation in Syria
This content was published on
Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, the Swiss foreign ministry has called on all parties to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law.
On a separate issue, Romania and Bulgaria will become full members of Europe’s Schengen free-travel area from next month, swelling the number of nations to 29, the EU said on Thursday.
Jans said this change would not bring any major changes for Switzerland. According to the Federal Council’s estimate, this will have no influence on immigration or migration. For the moment, migratory flows are not passing through Bulgaria or Romania on their way to Central Europe.
Translated from German by DeepL/sb
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Politics
In Switzerland, New Year brings ‘burka ban’ and pension hikes
Have you heard something about Swiss diplomacy that you’d like us to fact check?
Not all information circulating about Switzerland’s foreign relations is accurate or well understood. Tell us what you'd like us to fact check or clarify.
International and Swiss experts call for new obesity guidelines
This content was published on
A group of global experts, including Swiss doctors, has issued a report calling for a new definition of obesity that goes beyond BMI.
Iran and EU discuss nuclear issues, Russia and the Middle East in Switzerland
This content was published on
After meeting with French, German, and British representatives on Monday, Iran continued its talks with the EU representative in Geneva.
This content was published on
Lucerne-based steelmaker Swiss Steel has confirmed it will cut 130 jobs in Emmenbrücke, despite the emergency aid promised by Switzerland’s parliament.
Swiss SGS and French Bureau Veritas eye $35 billion merger
This content was published on
The Swiss inspection firm SGS has confirmed it is in talks with the French company Bureau Veritas about a potential merger of nearly $35 billion.
European committee raises alarm over police violence in western Switzerland
This content was published on
A Council of Europe committee is concerned about police practices in western Switzerland, citing “allegations of physical mistreatment” against detainees.
WEF: Trump to speak virtually, Zelensky to appear in person
This content was published on
US President-elect Donald Trump will attend this year's annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos via video conference. He is scheduled to speak on January 23.
Coop washes its hands of The Body Shop in Switzerland
This content was published on
The Body Shop is facing closure in Switzerland. Retailer Coop is no longer extending the franchise agreement for its cosmetics subsidiary.
Three out of ten Ukrainian refugees in Switzerland have a job
This content was published on
More and more refugees from Ukraine have a job in Switzerland. The employment rate of people with protection status S was just under 30% at the end of 2024.
Swiss private companies invest CHF18 billion in research
This content was published on
In 2023, private companies in Switzerland spent CHF18 billion ($19.7 billion) on their own research and development. This is CHF1.2 billion more than in 2021.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.