EU Ministers Ready to Blacklist Hizbullah's Military Wing

EU foreign ministers are likely to put the military wing of Hizbullah on their blacklist of "terror groups," EU diplomatic sources said Friday as the cabinet warned against such a step.

"There are still some reservations... but we are moving towards a decision on listing Hizbullah's military wing," a senior EU official said ahead of a meeting of all 28 EU foreign ministers on Monday.

The move was justified by Hizbullah's involvement in an attack against Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last year and its activities in Cyprus, the official said, but would "not impact current EU policy and engagement with Lebanon."

The official, who asked not to be named, also stressed that the military wing alone would be targeted and not Hizbullah's political organization.

On Thursday, Lebanon asked Brussels not to blacklist Hizbullah, saying the party was an "essential component of Lebanese society."

EU sources said Ireland and Malta were still reluctant to blacklist Hizbullah for fear of destabilizing the country, but it appeared likely that any holdouts would go along with the majority on Monday.

"We would be surprised if some ministers stood in the way of the EU taking robust action on terrorism," another senior EU official said. "They'll need to think quite carefully before blocking consensus."

Asked if Hizbullah's intervention in support of President Bashar Assad against rebel forces seeking his ouster in Syria had changed opinion, the first senior official insisted that was "another issue completely."

The decision was "solely driven" by concerns over terrorist actions in Europe, he added.

Unanimous backing from the 28 EU states is required to place a group or persons on the bloc's terrorist blacklist, making them subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.

The United States, Canada, Australia, Britain and the Netherlands have all blacklisted Hizbullah as a terror group.

Last July 18, five Israeli tourists and the Bulgarian driver of their bus were killed in a bombing at Burgas airport in the deadliest attack on Israelis abroad since 2004.

"There are clear links to Hizbullah behind this attack," Bulgaria's Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev said Thursday, citing new information from foreign intelligence services.