The number of asylum requests lodged by Syrians in the EU is at its highest in seven years. This should incentivize the EU to push hard for a fair and sustainable political settlement for the conflict.

Instead, with the rise of the far right and the economic downturn, the EU has been leaning towards simply making it more difficult for refugees to arrive and settle, despite having acknowledged only ten days ago that Syrians continue not to have a safe place to return to.