As the European Union moves to restore trade relations with Syria’s new Islamist government, a Greek member of the European Parliament is mounting an unprecedented campaign to force Brussels to confront a brutal reality on the ground: one of the world’s oldest Christian communities faces systematic extermination. Nickos Anadiotis, representing Greece’s conservative NIKI movement, has gathered support from 51 MEPs for a resolution that demands immediate diplomatic intervention and international accountability for what he describes as a coordinated campaign of violence against Greek Orthodox Christians.
Anadiotis filed the motion for a European Parliament resolution on March 31, easily surpassing the minimum threshold of 36 signatures required to bring the matter before the Plenary session. His resolution paints a grim picture of the situation facing Syrian Christians, citing alarming reports of systematic violence, forced displacement, and illegal property seizures targeting the Greek Orthodox minority across multiple regions. Radical Islamist groups and extremist elements are exploiting ongoing inility to wage what amounts to a campaign of religious cleansing, according to the text. The Greek Orthodox community, whose presence in the region dates back nearly two millennia, now stands at the precipice of complete eradication.
The resolution’s language is unambiguous in its condemnation. It calls out the targeting of civilians based on faith and the destruction of religious sites as grave violations of international law and fundamental human rights. Anadiotis demands that the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy take immediate diplomatic action to ensure Christian safety, while urging the European Commission to prioritize humanitarian aid and protection mechanisms for displaced members of the community. Perhaps most significantly, the resolution calls for an international investigation to hold perpetrators of religious persecution accountable.
The path forward for the resolution now depends on political maneuvering within the European Parliament’s complex institutional structure. Support from the majority in the Conference of Presidents is essential for the measure to advance to the floor in Strasbourg, where it would face debate and a formal vote. Anadiotis, classified as a Non-attached Member without formal political group affiliation, must now secure backing from the major parliamentary blocs. Chris Molyvas, representing NIKI in Greece, emphasized that support from the European People’s Party is absolutely crucial given its status as the largest political group in the Parliament.
Molyvas made a direct appeal to Manfred Weber, the EPP leader, framing the issue as a test of moral leadership and Christian values. He argued that the resolution represents a fundamental shift in approach, moving European policy on Syria from vague pronouncements to concrete protective actions. The NIKI representative stressed that as a political family traditionally aligned with the defense of Christian communities, the EPP has both a strategic and ethical obligation to champion this cause. Without their backing, he warned, the European Parliament risks ofcomplicity through silence as an ancient civilization is systematically erased from its ancestral homeland.
The timing of this parliamentary push creates an awkward juxtaposition for European policymakers eager to normalize relations with Damascus. Brussels faces a dilemma: can it simultaneously pursue economic engagement with Syria’s Islamist government while credibly advocating for besieged religious minorities? The answer to that question will determine not only the fate of Anadiotis’s resolution but also the future of Christian communities whose roots in Syria predate the arrival of Islam by centuries. If the Conference of Presidents greenlights the measure, the European Parliament will be forced to publicly reckon with whether trade interests or human rights principles will guide its approach to the new Syrian regime.
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