European Union foreign ministers were set Monday to tackle the thorny question of whether Hezbollah’s military wing should be blacklisted, with many expressing support for the move in the wake of terrorist actions on European soil.
“That is of course something that we cannot tolerate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told journalists ahead of the talks with his 27 EU counterparts in Brussels.
“If we get enough proof that there have been terrorist activities from the military wing of Hezbollah in Europe, we have to answer it,” German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle added.
“We cannot close our eyes to what happened in Bulgaria or to the attitudes of the military branch of Hezbollah in Syria,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Garcia—Margallo noted.
Britain requested the Hezbollah blacklisting after the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite organization was blamed for a deadly attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, which is a member of the EU.
Also helping to tip the scale in the eyes of some EU countries is the fact that Hezbollah has sent fighters to Syria to support embattled President Bashar al—Assad.
“It is important for us to show that we are united and strong in facing terrorism,” British Foreign Secretary William Hague said.
“Certainly, the great majority of member states now support a (terrorist) designation.” But the EU has to reach a unanimous decision to blacklist the military wing as a terrorist organization and hit it with sanctions such as travel bans and asset freezes.
The countries that are reluctant to do so point mainly to the risk that Lebanon could be destabilized, with ramifications for the surrounding region and European peacekeepers serving on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Spain all contribute peacekeepers to the 10,820—strong mission.
The ministers of Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg nevertheless publicly expressed support for a blacklisting on Monday, while diplomats said that France also is in favour.
But the situation is complicated by the fact that Hezbollah’s political arm is sometimes considered a legitimate organization.
Diplomats have acknowledged that it will be challenging to target only the military arm since it is not a clear, separate entity.
As a compromise, the ministers may have the blacklisting go hand—in—hand with a declaration that the EU will maintain a dialogue with all political parties in Lebanon and not suspend aid to the country — which is in part helping it cope with Syrian refugees.
“I think it’s important that the EU will speak in one voice on this,” Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak said.
Also on Monday, the ministers are due to discuss the Middle East peace process, after US Secretary of State John Kerry helped to convince Israel and the Palestinians to resume direct talks after almost three years.
Lajcak said that the EU ministers would be hearing from Kerry at their meeting.
They will additionally be briefed on Egypt by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who just visited the country.
They are expected to reiterate the EU’s call for an inclusive dialogue, the holding of new elections and the release of political prisoners — including deposed president Mohammed Morsi.
The situation in Syria is also on the agenda, but the ministers are not due to issue any statements. They will review the situation in the war—torn nation, two months after agreeing to exempt its opposition from the EU’s arms embargo.