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European MP Resigns over Talks with Assad

Pedro Agramunt. Photo courtesy of Council of Europe
Pedro Agramunt. Photo courtesy of Council of Europe
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European MP Resigns over Talks with Assad

Pedro Agramunt. Photo courtesy of Council of Europe
Pedro Agramunt. Photo courtesy of Council of Europe

Spanish politician Pedro Agramunt announced on Friday his resignation as president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), just three days before the assembly was due to vote on his dismissal.

Agramunt, the 66-year-old president of PACE since January 2016, wrote on Twitter: "Today, for personal reasons, I have decided to no longer chair the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.”

All of the assembly’s blocs have been demanding his dismissal since he went on a trip to Syria to meet with the head of the regime, Bashar al-Assad, in March.

Agramunt was stripped of his leadership powers at a session in April after the motion received 158 votes of the 324-member Assembly, which decided to vote in favor of his dismissal in October if by then he didn't resign.

PACE is made up of 324 parliamentarians from the national parliaments of the Council of Europe's 47 member states, and generally meets four times a year in Strasbourg to discuss upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

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Syria Announces 200 Percent Public Sector Wage, Pension Increase

FILE PHOTO: Bundles of Syrian currency notes are stacked up as an employee counts money at Syrian central bank, in Damascus,Syria, January 12, 2025. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Bundles of Syrian currency notes are stacked up as an employee counts money at Syrian central bank, in Damascus,Syria, January 12, 2025. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi/File Photo
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Syria Announces 200 Percent Public Sector Wage, Pension Increase

FILE PHOTO: Bundles of Syrian currency notes are stacked up as an employee counts money at Syrian central bank, in Damascus,Syria, January 12, 2025. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Bundles of Syrian currency notes are stacked up as an employee counts money at Syrian central bank, in Damascus,Syria, January 12, 2025. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi/File Photo

Syria announced on Sunday a 200 percent hike in public sector wages and pensions, as it seeks to address a grinding economic crisis after the recent easing of international sanctions.

Over a decade of civil war has taken a heavy toll on Syria's economy, with the United Nations reporting more than 90 percent of its people live in poverty.

In a decree published by state media, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a "200 percent increase to salaries and wages... for all civilian and military workers in public ministries, departments and institutions.”

Under the decree, the minimum wage for government employees was raised to 750,000 Syrian pounds per month, or around $75, up from around $25, AFP reported.

A separate decree granted the same 200 percent increase to retirement pensions included under current social insurance legislation.

Last month, the United States and European Union announced they would lift economic sanctions in a bid to help the country's recovery.

Also in May, Syria's Finance Minister Mohammed Barnieh said Qatar would help it pay some public sector salaries.

The extendable arrangement was for $29 million a month for three months, and would cover "wages in the health, education and social affairs sectors and non-military" pensions, he had said.

Barnieh had said the grant would be managed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and covered around a fifth of current wages and salaries.

Syria has some 1.25 million public sector workers, according to official figures.