Syria Today | No need to rush

No need to rush

Syria’s decision to postpone the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU surprised many. Syria Today hit the streets of Damascus to find out what ordinary Syrians think of the deal.

Muhammad Ataya, 27, computer programmer: “The Association Agreement would mark a turning point in Syrian-EU relations, especially after the isolationist policies of George Bush [former US president] and Jacques Chirac [former French president]. Europe will benefit economically from the agreement because Syria is a gateway to countries such as Iran, China, Malaysia and even Iraq. Domestically, the agreement will encourage Syria to liberalise trade, reduce customs duties and remove subsidies on basic commodities. It will also open the door to more foreign investment and provide the country with more EU assistance. There is no need to rush into signing the agreement, however. Time is on our side. Much economic and social change has taken place since 2004, so it’s important that we re-examine the terms of the agreement, especially with regard to reform of the tax system and our trade and investment laws.”

Ayman al-Sheikh, 30, shopkeeper: “If we sign the Association Agreement, I think it will boost Syrian industry. The agreement has the potential to open Europe up to Syrian products such as olive oil, cotton and textiles. It will also allow some high-quality products to enter the Syrian market. This will spur competition, but I hope Syrian products will be strong enough to survive. I think the government is acting very wisely by refusing to sign until it has studied all of the details in the agreement again.”

Eyad Mahfouz, 43, waiter: “I’m not an economist, but from what I see there has been an increase in the number of Arab and European tourists visiting Syria this summer, despite the global financial crisis. If the agreement is signed, it will enable the state and our tour operators to target European tourists more easily. In turn, this will encourage more visitors to Syria.”

Rema Tannos, 52, housewife: “We should study the agreement carefully and if it serves Syria’s interests we should sign it. However, we shouldn’t succumb to pressure; there’s no rush. After all, the agreement has been frozen for the past five years. Did the EU suddenly wake up one day and say ‘Syria, come on, it’s in your interests to sign the agreement now?’ No, it didn’t. The EU is looking out for its interests and we are looking out for ours. If the agreement will help Syrians improve their day-to-day conditions, we should sign it.”