BRUSSELS: EU foreign ministers agreed on Monday to blacklist Hizbullah’s armed wing, holding it responsible for attacks in Europe. “Agreement reached to list Hizbullah,” an EU diplomat said, as ministers overcame reservations in some member states that such a move would further destabilise Lebanon where the militant group plays a major role.
To do so, ministers agreed that EU political and economic links with Lebanon would be maintained.
They also highlighted the fact that it is the military wing alone that is blacklisted after Hezbollah was blamed for a deadly attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last year.
“It is good that the EU has decided to call Hizbullah what it is: a terrorist organisation,” Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said.
“For years the Netherlands has pushed for listing Hezbollah,” he said. “That’s why I’m satisfied that we took this important step today, by dealing with the military wing of Hizbullah, freezing its assets, hindering its fundraising and thereby limiting its capacity to act.”
A draft of the meeting conclusions seen earlier by AFP noted that making use of “restrictive measures to combat terrorism does not prevent the continuation of dialogue with all political parties in Lebanon.”
“Legitimate financial transfers” and aid will also not be affected, it added.
On Thursday, Lebanon asked Brussels not to blacklist Hizbullah on the grounds the militant group was an “essential component of Lebanese society.”
Hizbullah, which is close to Iran, is Israel’s sworn enemy, and its recent intervention in Syria has dismayed Western powers which back rebels battling to oust President Bashar al-Assad.
A decision to put the militia on the European Union list of terrorist groups required approval by all 28 national ministers.
Britain pressed hard for the decision, saying it was a “high priority.” “It is very important that when there is a terror attack on European soil there needs to be a reaction,” British Foreign Secretary William Hague said as he arrived for the talks early on Monday.
Hague said he did not believe that blacklisting Hizbullah “would destabilise Lebanon,” adding: “It is important to show that we are united in face of terrorism.”
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle agreed. “We cannot allow the military wing of Hizbullah to carry out terrorist activities in EU ... we think we have to answer such activities ... and the answer is to blacklist them.”
Arriving for the talks, ministers had also highlighted the possible resumption of stalled Israel-Palestinian talks after a major push by US Secretary of State John Kerry and the need to promote democracy in Egypt after the military ouster of the elected government.
To do so, ministers agreed that EU political and economic links with Lebanon would be maintained.
They also highlighted the fact that it is the military wing alone that is blacklisted after Hezbollah was blamed for a deadly attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last year.
“It is good that the EU has decided to call Hizbullah what it is: a terrorist organisation,” Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said.
“For years the Netherlands has pushed for listing Hezbollah,” he said. “That’s why I’m satisfied that we took this important step today, by dealing with the military wing of Hizbullah, freezing its assets, hindering its fundraising and thereby limiting its capacity to act.”
A draft of the meeting conclusions seen earlier by AFP noted that making use of “restrictive measures to combat terrorism does not prevent the continuation of dialogue with all political parties in Lebanon.”
“Legitimate financial transfers” and aid will also not be affected, it added.
On Thursday, Lebanon asked Brussels not to blacklist Hizbullah on the grounds the militant group was an “essential component of Lebanese society.”
Hizbullah, which is close to Iran, is Israel’s sworn enemy, and its recent intervention in Syria has dismayed Western powers which back rebels battling to oust President Bashar al-Assad.
A decision to put the militia on the European Union list of terrorist groups required approval by all 28 national ministers.
Britain pressed hard for the decision, saying it was a “high priority.” “It is very important that when there is a terror attack on European soil there needs to be a reaction,” British Foreign Secretary William Hague said as he arrived for the talks early on Monday.
Hague said he did not believe that blacklisting Hizbullah “would destabilise Lebanon,” adding: “It is important to show that we are united in face of terrorism.”
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle agreed. “We cannot allow the military wing of Hizbullah to carry out terrorist activities in EU ... we think we have to answer such activities ... and the answer is to blacklist them.”
Arriving for the talks, ministers had also highlighted the possible resumption of stalled Israel-Palestinian talks after a major push by US Secretary of State John Kerry and the need to promote democracy in Egypt after the military ouster of the elected government.
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