Politics

A decision by Syria’s Ministry of Energy to raise fuel prices has triggered the country’s largest wave of popular protests since the fall of the former regime in December 2024, with demonstrations, road blockades, and strikes spreading across several governorates. The ministry increased the price of gas oil (mazout) by 40 percent, petrol by more than 25 percent, and household and industrial gas by around 9 percent. The increases immediately pushed up public transport fares and fuel-related costs across the country, at a time when Syria is already experiencing double-digit inflation and widespread pressure on household purchasing power.

Syria’s diplomatic opening has created an economic opportunity that would have seemed remote only a short time ago. The danger is that the political value of this opening will erode if Syrians see investment announcements multiplying while their own livelihoods remain insecure. The government’s ability to turn international interest into functioning businesses, reliable services and broadly shared opportunities will help determine whether the transition earns durable public confidence.

The final delisting came after U.S. President Donald Trump notified Congress on 8 July of his intention to remove Syria from the list, triggering a 45-day statutory review period before the delisting process could be completed.

The first US-Syria Business Forum, held on Monday at the Dama Rose Hotel in Damascus,  brought together senior Syrian officials, representatives of U.S. companies and business leaders in Damascus, reflecting growing momentum behind efforts to rebuild commercial ties between the two countries.

A year and half into post-Assad Syria, the composition of the parliament has been nearly finalised - with the exception of three seats allocated to Suweida governorate -  following the appointment of the final bloc of members by President Ahmad Al-Sharaa. The inaugural session, originally scheduled on Monday, has been postponed due to procedural disagreements between newly elected members and the body overseeing the electoral process, highlighting unresolved legal questions surrounding the implementation of the Constitutional Declaration and the temporary electoral system.

Activist Hassan Akkad was released on June 21 after a five-day detention ordeal in a controversial online defamation case involving regime crony Mohammad Hamsho. The way the arrest was conducted and the reliance of the transitional authorities on Assad-era tools to repress dissent such as the Cybercrime Law have sparked a wave of local and international outcry and a popular pressure campaign that led to the release of this high-profile activist and BAFTA-winning filmmaker.

The controversial five-day detention ordeal of an activist seeking accountability for the unfulfilled pledges made at local reconstruction fundraisers has thrown into the spotlight the challenges that the organisers of such fundraisers face.

Last week, the Illicit Gain Combating Committee (IGCC) took control of the Qalamoun Private University after taking over a company owned by Salim Daaboul, a businessman linked to former regime circles. 

An unusual rise in water levels in the Euphrates River during the final week of May has developed into one of the most significant water-related emergencies witnessed in northeastern Syria in recent years. The sudden increase affected thousands of families across the Raqqa and Deir-ez-Zor governorates, flooded agricultural land, disrupted water services, damaged transport infrastructure, and exposed longstanding weaknesses in flood preparedness and riverbank management.

The Ministry of Finance has issued Decision No. 1378 of 2026 (See Official Gazette issue No. 19 of 2026), which grants governors the authority to approve the transfer of employees between directorates and bodies affiliated with the Ministry of Finance within their respective governorates. 

The Contracts Law No. 51 of 2004 has been amended to allow a direct purchases to be conducted when the value of the contract does not exceed New SYP 200,000 (equivalent to USD 1,450 at the black market rate). This replaces the old threshold, which was set at Old SYP 10,000,000 (equivalent to around USD 725). 

Since the fall of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024, Tel Aviv has deployed a strategy of creeping encroachment in southern Syria that has been met with minor diplomatic resistance. This strategy applied in parts of Quneitra and Daraa relies on announcing buffer zones, setting up military bases and checkpoints, preventing farmers from working their land, conducting arbitrary arrests and raids, destroying civilian homes, and enabling settlers to conduct incursions. In parallel, Israel has increased funding to bring settlers into the occupied Golan Heights and has launched de-mining efforts along the Israeli Syrian border as a prelude to Israel's Eastern Border Security Barrier initiative.

The first Syrian-Emirati Investment Forum, organised in Damascus this week by the Syrian Investment Authority (SIA) offered a rare public glimpse into the structure of the Syrian Sovereign Fund (SSF), one of the country’s most influential economic actors since its establishment by President Ahmad Al-Sharaa in 2025. The SSF owns approximately 2,000 properties valued at USD 2.5 billion, and more than 70 million square metres of land with planned projects valued at approximately USD 100 billion.

On Monday, the European Council officially reinstated the EU-Syria Cooperation Agreement after lifting the partial suspension introduced in 2011. 

In a series of decrees, President Ahmad Al-Sharaa announced the replacement of the ministers of Information and Agriculture, as well as the governors of Homs, Lattakia, Quneitra and Deir-ez-Zor. Even more significant, he named a new Secretary-General of the presidency, a position that was held until now by his brother, Maher Al-Sharaa.

Several ministries have issued various decisions to increase the powers of local administrations, particularly at the governorate level, according to the Official Gazette, Issue No. 17 of 2026. 

Syria’s transitional government inherited a skeletal welfare system in which citizens nominally had access to healthcare, social housing, subsidised goods, and retirement pensions, but reality on the ground was far bleaker. The new government, quick to adopt the free-market agenda and declare the end of the subsidy era, is still in the process of designing its social protection framework. This report offers an overview of what is left of the welfare state and examines the discussions between the government and international organisations to design social protection policies (which include a national cash transfer programme and a unified social registry project). It also looks into the financial viability of pensions, the strategy to counter the low levels of social protection coverage, the under-funding of social housing programmes, and explores the debate around health financing reform.

Syria has recently witnessed a growing wave of social and economic protests across multiple governorates, reflecting mounting pressure on living conditions and public services. 

After over a decade of litigation, the Paris Criminal Court has found French company Lafarge and four former senior executives guilty of financing terrorism and violating international sanctions.

Last week, the Damascus Governorate issued a ban on serving alcoholic drinks in Damascus, triggering protests and widespread concern over what many perceive as an attempt to restrict personal freedoms and impose new forms of social control. The decision has generated concerns about  governance, diversity, and the future social fabric of Syria, in addition to the economic impact it will have on the alcoholic beverages sector and the tourism industry.