Speaking in a plenary debate this afternoon on the situation in Syria, GUE/NGL MEPs Willy Meyer and Marisa Matias set out the Group's strong opposition to military action.

Willy Meyer said: "Our group is against the civil war as well as all forms of intervention. We need a political solution that does not bypass the UN."

He continued: "Back in February 2003 we saw former US secretary of state Colin Powell present evidence to justify going to war with Saddam Hussein. We don't want another illegal and illicit war based on false intelligence. Any form of intervention is a return to barbarism."

Marisa Matias commented: "Chemical weapons can only be condemned by us all, but that doesn't mean that some of the solutions being put forward here are the best ones. We are against any external military intervention. War should be rejected outright."

"With hundreds of thousands of dead and refugees we need a political and democratic solution and an international investigation under the aegis of the UN. How many times have we been fooled?"

She added: "The EU could also do much more to support refugees and it can lead an international conference that would ensure an effective ban on the use of chemical and biological weapons."