Translated by Alessandra Fumagalli
Before the land invasion by Israel in the Lebanese territory, the EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs had asked for a “ceasefire” between Hezbollah and Israel. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, at the end of the emergency meetings with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, stated: “Israel and Lebanon’s sovereignty must be respected and each military intervention would dramatically worsen the situation, that is why it must be avoided”. He had also added: “We are deeply worried about the risk of a further conflict’s escalation in the whole area and we ask all the parties to be moderated in order to favor a de-escalation”.
However, the EU ministerial meeting was held in an informal way, without reaching any official solutions about the upgrowing hostilities. The deep divisions among the EU Member States about the Middle East’s conflict, started with the Gaza’s War last October, limited the diplomatic power of the EU in the area.
Despite the calls, some hours later, the Israeli troops raided Lebanon, with aerial raids in the South of the country. Benyamin Netanyahu’s government assured that the operation would have been more restrained than the initial previsions, aiming at neutralizing Hezbollah's threat, which is still launching missiles towards the North of Israel.
Borrel also underlined EU’s engagement in supporting the Lebanese authorities and highlighted the importance of the ongoing efforts to provide humanitarian aids, which are essential to people.
Which are the relationships between the EU and Lebanon?
Lebanon and the European Union are established upon an EU-Lebanon association agreement, entered into force 2006, about the partnership’s EU-Lebanon priorities and on the EU-Lebanon agreement, which aims at facing the impact of the Syrian crisis on the country.
The association agreement established the bilateral trade relations which brought to the liberalization of the goods trade. The agreement is part of the European neighborhood policy (ENP), which governs the EU's relations with 16 of its closest eastern and southern partners, promoting politics and economic reforms.
The partnership’s priorities aim at:
- promoting the growth and creation of new workplaces:
- promoting the local governance and the socioeconomic development;
- promoting the State of law and reinforcing security.
EU and Lebanon cooperation includes targeted support, in order to reinforce the institutional abilities and apply measures which are favorable to the society. Beirut indeed works together with Bruxelles in order to reinforce the democratic institutions, the state of law and the governance. Lebanon is also an important interlocutor for the EU, regionally security speaking, since its proximity with Syria and Israel, and the influence of some groups like Hezbollah. As a consequence, the EU is one of the main humanitarian and development helpers for Lebanon.
The Union financial support is particularly relevant in crisis contexts, like the Syrian civil war, which brought to a high number of Syrian refugees in the country. Lebanon hosts over one million refugees and the EU assists both the refugees and the local communities, who live in emergency.
Lebanon benefits from financing thanks to the Madad Foundation, the EU regional trust fund towards the Syrian crisis. In December 2020, the EU announced the launch of “a reforms, recovery and reconstruction program”, developed together with the United NAtions and the World Bank, aiming at “reconstructing a better Lebanon”. This plan is based on transparency, inclusion and responsibilities. However, the important economic support of the EU is not only aiming at reconstructing people’s welfare , but also at reconstructing a democratic, inclusive and prosperous Lebanon, which will be linked with concrete progress in the essential reforms.
EU and Hezbollah
EU and Hezbollah’s relations are complex and characterized by some political and security issues, which come from the role played by Hezbollah in Lebanon and in the Middle East. In 2013, the EU officially classified Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. This decision was taken after some violences episodes, linked with the organization, among which there is an attack in Bulgaria in 2012, where five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian citizen died after a bus attack.
However, the diplomatic intensification and the European union are also due to the changes in the Syrian issue. Hezbollah, founded in 1982 during the first Israeli-Lebanese conflict, has always been allied with Bashar al-Assad’ government (Syrian president). The group has taken part actively and militarily in the Syrian war, supported also by the Iranian troops in Pasdaran. This involvement has contributed to the destabilization of Lebanon, where a part of people supported the Syrian rebels, and has distanced a part of the Sunni Islamic world, that at that moment saw Hezbollah as a defensor against Israel.
The designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization has had important consequences, and as a consequence the EU could impose important sanctions towards the involved members, like freezing goods and financial restriction. However, the EU distinguished Hezbollah into two parts: the military one and the political one, which has elected diplomats in the Lebanese Parliament and plays a fundamental role in Lebanon. In this way there is the possibility to collaborate with institutional and state diplomats in the Shiite party.
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