In a plenary debate held on the evening of Wednesday 29 April, MEPs called for greater EU involvement in resolving the crisis in Lebanon and in assisting the Lebanese state from a security point of view.
The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has already left more than 2,500 people dead and 1.2 million displaced, and the ceasefire in place since 17 April remains fragile, with regular violations.
“The current Lebanese government says it wants to carry out far-reaching reforms and throw off the yoke of Hezbollah, but Europe must help it with the reforms and commit itself to guaranteeing Lebanon’s security”, stressed Wouter Beke (EPP, Belgian).
According to Alberico Gambino (ECR, Italian),“it is essential to support the strengthening of Lebanese institutions. Only a strong and sovereign state will be able to ensure lasting stability and security”. “This will not be possible as long as Hezbollah continues to operate as an autonomous armed force”, he denounced.
“The return of peace to Lebanon must be one of our priorities. Its essential condition is the assertion of the Lebanese state throughout its territory, and therefore the neutralisation of any internal competitor”, added Pierre-Romain Thionnet (PfE, French). In his view, for the country to assert itself, “there are no institutions more legitimate than the Lebanese army itself” and the EU must therefore “support the rise of the Lebanese army”.
François-Xavier Bellamy (EPP, French) felt that “the only chance for the Lebanese people to regain peace, security, sovereignty and full democracy is to disarm Hezbollah in compliance with the decisions of the international community and the resolutions of the United Nations. And it is to this end that France and Europe must make every possible contribution on the ground”.
Several MEPs, such as Christophe Grudler (Renew Europe, French), expressed their concern at the forthcoming end of the mandate of the United Nations Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) “with no guarantee of a replacement, whereas we need a force on the ground to account for the actions of all sides”.
MEPs called for pressure to be brought to bear on Israel. “Europe has the levers, the association agreement with Israel, its funding, its voice... Let it use this to ensure that the ceasefire is genuinely respected and to guarantee real humanitarian access! The Lebanese people deserve a Europe that takes action!”, stressed Christophe Grudler. According to Leoluca Orlando (Greens/EFA, Italian), the EU should suspend relations with Israel, saying it was “high time to act to put an end to the criminal madness of Netanyahu’s government”. “How much blood must be spilled before we can be rid of Netanyahu? (...) We must protect international law, (....) finally impose sanctions on Israel”, added Giorgios Georgiou (The Left, Cypriot).
“Like you, I want to see the EU play more than just a donor role, a role as a credible mediator, committed to Lebanon. This is what Europe has been doing and continues to do”, stressed European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib, describing as unfair the comments of MEPs who claim that the EU is doing nothing. Ms Lahbib pointed out that the EU had already released €100 million in humanitarian aid and set up a humanitarian airlift. “The seventh flight will coincide with my visit to Lebanon next week”, she announced during the debate. “100 million is a lot, but it’s also not enough in view of the continuing destruction”, she acknowledged. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)