EU EXTERNAL PARTNERS: EU top leadership visits Middle East ― NGOs decry Israel’s decision to stop them working in Gaza ― EU reportedly planning to expand migration support to eastern Libya – Tunisia releases several detained aid workers but others rema…

• European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa visited Jordan, Syria and Lebanon at the beginning of January.
• A large group of international NGOs has raised concerns about the severe humanitarian consequences of the Israeli government’s recent decision to terminate their authorisations to operate in Gaza.
• The EU is reportedly planning to extend its migration co-operation to eastern Libya.
• A court in Tunisia has released a group of humanitarian workers after 20 months in detention.

European Commission (EC) President Ursula Von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa travelled to the Middle East at the beginning of January. On 8 January, the two presidents attended the first EU-Jordan Summit in Amman. The meeting took place a year after the signing of the €3 billion EU-Jordan Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership (SCP) and participants outlined priorities for deepening co-operation in several areas, including migration, refugee protection and support. According to documents seen by the Euractiv news agency, the EU used the occasion to disburs an initial €500 million from the partnership package. In a joint statement issued after the meeting, the EU commended Jordan for its “sustained efforts in hosting millions of refugees” and its commitment to ensuring their dignity and access to basic services. Both parties agreed to hold a follow-up summit in April 2028 in Brussels.

On 9 January, Costa and von der Leyen visited Damascus. According to an EC statement, the purpose of the visit was for the EU to discuss “a new chapter in bilateral relations” with Syrian President Ahmed al-Shaara. As part of its stated effort to support a peaceful and inclusive transition in Syria, the EC announced a financial support package of around €620 million to cover humanitarian aid, early recovery assistance and bilateral support in 2026 and 2027. Speaking to reporters on 13 January, EC Chief Spokesperson Paula Pinho said that the initiative would also “help in making the conditions more conducive to the voluntary return of the many, many Syrians that had been forced to leave the country”.

Also on 9 January, Costa and von der Leyen travelled to Lebanon where they met President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Lebanon. According to an EC press release, the two EU presidents welcomed the “decisive measures that had been taken to stabilise Lebanon’s security and economy” and expressed their readiness to launch discussions on an SCP with Lebanon “once conditions allow”. The visit followed the ninth EU–Lebanon Association Council which took place in December 2025 in Brussels and was the first such meeting in eight years.

A large group of international NGOs (INGOs) has raised concerns about the severe humanitarian consequences of the Israeli government’s recent decision to terminate their authorisations to operate in Gaza. In a joint statement, 53 INGOs, including a number of ECRE member organisations, noted that they had been officially notified on 30 December that their registrations would expire the following day and that, as a result, they would be required to cease their operations in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, within a 60-day time limit. They denounced the Israeli government’s decision as a “deliberate policy choice with foreseeable consequences” whilst underlining that humanitarian access is “not optional, conditional, or political” but rather a “legal obligation under international humanitarian law”. The INGOs called on the Israeli government to “immediately halt deregistration proceedings and lift measures obstructing humanitarian assistance” and urged donor governments to “use all available leverage to secure the suspension and reversal of these actions”.

The EU is reportedly planning to extend its migration co-operation to eastern Libya. According to the ‘nd’ news site, the EEAS is finalising an agreement with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the establishment of a maritime rescue coordination centre (MRCC) in Benghazi. Journalist Matthias Monroy has reported that Italy would “bear the lion’s share of the costs” for an 18‑month implementation phase, which would involve the installation of a tower with radar and surveillance technology in Tobruk as well as the delivery of other equipment which would be handed over to Libyan authorities at the end of the project. Commenting on the planned MRCC, a spokesperson for the NGO Alarm Phone said: “From a new control centre in Benghazi, as far as search and rescue is concerned, no more can be expected than from the one in Tripoli,” adding: “When it comes to urgent cases of distress at sea, help rarely comes from there. The structures in the west and east serve to organise pullbacks”.

A court in Tunisia has released a group of humanitarian workers after 20 months in detention. The workers, who were affiliated with the Tunisian branch of ECRE member organisation France Terre d’Asile, received two-year suspended prison sentences for assisting people on the move. In addition, 17 municipal employees from the eastern city of Sousse were also implicated for allowing the organisation to use public premises. According to the NGO Legal Action Worldwide, “at least two aid workers are still detained in Tunisia and at least eight more are being prosecuted for providing legal humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations”.

Related articles