Norbert Neuser, S&D coordinator for the committee on development, led a fact-finding mission to Lebanon this week on the access to education for Syrian refugees. Lebanon hosts 1 million Syrian refugees in a country of 4 million Lebanese citizens. 

S&D MEP Norbert Neuser said:

"We welcome the unprecedented commitment of the Lebanese government towards the Syrian refugees - they are doing more than all our member states combined. We also welcome the leading cooperation of the EU, in which education is clearly identified as a priority, and a sector where the agreed Partnership Priorities for EU-Lebanon relations and proposed Compact can make a difference. It is now our role as the European Parliament to monitor that the funding will serve its purpose: reaching all children with education, both Syrian and Lebanese.

"As a former school director in Germany after the Cold War, I know too well the challenges faced by the educative system in such circumstances, but I can also testify about the added value for both refugees and German children.

"Administrative and practical barriers need to be overcome in order to ensure the success of the Lebanese strategy. We urge the Lebanese government to review its policies on registration of refugees and migrants, including working with UNHCR to start the registration of refugees again and to lift the large fees for residence permits."