The European Union has agreed to put the armed wing of Hizbullah on its terrorism blacklist, a move driven by concerns over the Lebanese militant group's involvement in a deadly bus bombing in Bulgaria and the Syrian war.
The powerful Lebanese Shi'ite movement, an ally of Iran, has attracted concern in Europe and around the world in recent months for its role in sending thousands of fighters to support Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's government, an intervention that has turned the tide of Syria's two-year-old civil war.
Britain and the Netherlands have long pressed their EU peers to impose sanctions on the Shi'ite Muslim group, citing evidence it was behind an attack in the Bulgarian city of Burgas a year ago that killed five Israelis and their driver.
Until now, many EU capitals had resisted lobbying from Washington and Israel to blacklist the group, warning such a move could fuel instability in Lebanon and in the Middle East.
Hizbullah functions both as a political party that is part of the Lebanese government and as a militia with thousands of guerrillas under arms.
Lebanese caretaker foreign minister Adnan Mansour said the decision was "hasty" and could lead to further sanctions against the movement that would complicate Lebanese politics.
“This will hinder Lebanese political life in the future, especially considering our sensitivities in Lebanon,” he told Reuters. “We need to tighten bonds among Lebanese parties, rather than create additional problems.”
The blacklisting opens the way for EU governments to freeze any assets Hizbullah’s military wing may have in Europe.
"There's no question of accepting terrorist organisations in Europe," French foreign minister Laurent Fabius told reporters.
Dutch foreign minister Frans Timmermans said in a statement that the EU had taken an important step by "dealing with the military wing of Hizbullah, freezing its assets, hindering its fundraising and thereby limiting its capacity to act".
In the United States, Secretary of State John Kerry said Syria was an important factor behind the EU vote.
“A growing number of governments are recognizing Hizbullah as the dangerous and destabilising terrorist organisation that it is,” he said.
Reuters