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What role should EU have in resolving Syria crisis?

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Marisa Matias, the chair of the delegation of the European Parliament for relations with the Mashreq countries, speaks about the EU’s role in the Syrian conflict, while tackling the refugee crisis and ways the EU is helping host countries, like Jordan and Lebanon, deal with the massive influx of displaced Syrians.
Portugal's presidential candidate Marisa Matias visits the National Conservatory of Music in Lisbon, Portugal January 13, 2016. Portugal will elect their next president on January 24.   REUTERS/Rafael Marchante - RTX229W6

Marisa Matias, a member of the European Parliament, has stressed that Europe’s goal in Syria should be to preserve the unity of that country.

Matias, who is based in Brussels, is the chair of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria). In an email interview with Al-Monitor, Matias referred to a widespread misunderstanding within the EU that the Syrian conflict is of an ethnic and religious nature. She warned that such a view risks undermining the goal of a “united Syria.”

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