Brussels, 22/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 22 July, European foreign ministers decided to add the Lebanese movement Shia, the military wing of Hezbollah, to the list of terrorist organisations of the EU.
This decision, which will freeze all the assets of this organisation, is to be published in the Official Journal on 26 July. Before this can be done, the Swedish government will have to give its approval, as required by its constitution, which is expected to be done on 25 July. “This sends out a very strong political signal” by the EU to the armed wing of Hezbollah, a European source states.
A distinction must be drawn between a political and a military wing. “This is absolutely not impossible. The proof of this is that this has been done in a number of conflicts”, argued the French minister, Laurent Fabius. “As a political organisation, Hezbollah is a component of the Lebanese government. We want a stable Lebanon and we therefore want it to be able to have a government and a majority in Lebanon. On the other hand, as regards terrorist activities, there is no question of allowing any level of terrorist movements active in Europe”, he added, referring to the actions carried out by Shia in Bulgaria.
In the view of Luxembourg's Jean Asselborn, on the other hand, the distinction between military wing and political wing is “the big question”. “There is no distinction in fact, I believe that we will be focusing on those committing terrorist acts in the name of Hezbollah throughout the European territory”, he said, adding that, “if the military wing of Hezbollah commits a terrorist act, we must not turn a blind eye to it”.
The German minister, Guido Westerwelle, said that “if you attack one of our European countries, the response will come from all of us”. These words were echoed by the Dutch minister Frans Timmermans: “It is good that the EU has decided to call Hezbollah what it is: a terrorist organisation”. He expressed his satisfaction that the EU has taken “this important step”, which freezes Shia's assets, making it harder to raise funds and therefore limiting its ability to act.
Ministers said that cooperation with all political parties in Lebanon, including the political wing of Hezbollah, would continue. The same goes for the EU's aid to Lebanon, particularly at the humanitarian level. Between 2011 and 2013, this stood at €250 million.
Lebanon lamented the EU's decision, calling for a sounder assessment of the facts. However, Lebanese society, in all its components, will continue to enjoy the best relations with the countries of the EU, said the outgoing head of government, Najib Mikati. (CG with EL and LM/transl.fl)