Report: Lebanon Seeks European Assistance to Confront COVID-19

The response of Western countries and international organizations to Lebanon's call for aid to confront coronavirus declined, and the circulars sent to embassies and Lebanese consulates did not list any request for medical supplies, the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat daily reported on Wednesday.

A Lebanese diplomat who spoke to the daily on condition of anonymity said that France is the only European country that has sent urgent medical assistance to Lebanon, followed by Spain which proposed setting up an aid program for neighboring countries, specifically Lebanon.

“Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Arancha González Laya informed this decision to Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti during their meeting last week,” said the source.

The government of Spain has asked Oliver Varelli, the European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy, responsible for the southern Mediterranean countries, to formulate an aid program and provide it to neighboring countries, specifically for Lebanon.

The source pointed out that Hitti and Varelli discussed the assistance that the European Union can provide for Lebanon, and agreed that Hitti would prepare a list of the priorities that Lebanon needs in order to be presented to the European Union in the framework of bilateral cooperation between Lebanon and the Union.

However, he pointed out Lebanon's failure in sending lists of the supplies needed at the state-run Rafik Hariri University Hospital and other hospitals.