With the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on a visit to Lebanon on Tuesday 19 December, the European Commission on the same day adopted a new programme of aid for €44 million, which aims to help promote stability and economic and social development in the country.
The aid is made up of three programmes. The first, 'Support to electoral reform and democratic participation in Lebanon', aims at “developing the capacity of national entities to conduct credible, periodical, transparent and inclusive elections in the country”, the Commission explains.
The second programme, 'Towards a decentralised waste management integrated response', aims to increase the ability of the Governorates of Beirut and Mount Lebanon to manage waste. This programme will help to establish better and environmentally-friendly waste governance in general, the Commission states.
Finally, the 'Local development programme along the Litani river basin' aims to promote stability in the country through the improvement of socio-economic conditions and the resilience of the populations living along the Litani River. “It will strengthen the institutional capacities of local governments and promote public and private partnerships”, according to the Commission.
When asked how the money will be split between the programmes, the European External Action Service was unable to answer as we were going to press. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)