MEPs called on the new Lebanese government on Thursday 16 September to implement the necessary measures and on the EU to help the country.
Lebanon, which is facing a serious economic and social crisis, finally has a government after more than 13 months of negotiations (see EUROPE 12789/10).
In the joint resolution adopted by the Greens/EFA, S&D, ECR, EPP and Renew Europe groups (575 votes in favour, 71 against and 39 abstentions), MEPs urge the Lebanese leadership to keep its promises. The new government must quickly implement key governance and economic reforms that will ensure political and economic recovery, the European Parliament warns, calling on the authorities to resume discussions with the IMF as soon as possible. According to MEPs, the country must also take all necessary measures to dismantle corrupt practices, including public capital transfers and tax evasion.
The European Parliament also calls on the Commission and EU Member States to engage “constructively” with the new government in implementing the structural and sectoral reforms required to unlock EU macro-financial assistance and in strengthening trade relations.
The Commission should also, in the European Parliament’s view, reform the long-term funds and the strategy and recovery plan for Lebanon within the framework of the EU-Lebanon partnership priorities, and consider funding additional potential partners in civil society.
Highlighting that the May 2022 elections should not be postponed under any circumstances, the European Parliament warns that the elections must meet international democratic standards of freedom, fairness and transparency. The Commission and the Member States should provide all the technical and financial assistance necessary to allow the elections to take place in the best possible conditions and strive to ensure the fairness and transparency of the whole process, says the European Parliament.
Noting that the Council of the EU adopted a framework for sanctions against Lebanon on 30 July (see EUROPE 12773/15), Parliament considers that the introduction of targeted sanctions for obstructing or undermining the democratic political process “remains an option that could be activated, if responsible actors in Lebanon continue to obstruct reform and the fight against corruption”.
During the debate in the plenary session on 14 September, the EU High Representative had explained that the legal framework focused on the obstruction to the formation of a government. According to him, once there is a government, the Member States will not impose sanctions, because “it is no longer the time”.
Finally, the European Parliament said that the Commission and Member States should provide additional humanitarian aid, “given the dire conditions on the ground” in particular food aid, hospital and pharmaceutical supplies, and providing alternative energy sources.
See the joint resolution: https://bit.ly/3kmszZ7 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)