Berri calls on EU to retract decision to blacklist Hezbollah

Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri condemned on Tuesday the European Union’s decision to blacklist Hezbollah and called for its reversal.

“This decision reflects a disregard of justice, since no judicial side has issued an honest accusation against Hezbollah. It constituties a free service to Israel,” Berri said in a statement.

The speaker also called on the EU to “retract its decision and measures, because they will no doubt harm all the Lebanese and their interests in Europe.”

He also said that the decision would “expose the fragile situation in Lebanon to more tension and unrest.”

The speaker also accused the EU of “covering the Israeli crimes against Lebanon through the continuous violations against Lebanon’s borders and the occupation of parts of its land.”

EU foreign ministers on Monday added Hezbollah’s military wing to its list of “terrorist organizations.”

The decision came after some of EU’s 28 foreign ministers overcame reservations in some member states that such a move would further destabilize Lebanon where the party is a major political force.

To do so, ministers agreed that EU political and economic links with Lebanon would be maintained.

They also highlighted the fact that it is the military wing alone that is blacklisted after Hezbollah was blamed for a deadly attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last year.

NOW

Photo: Angelina Eichhorst Ambassador of European Union to Lebanon ( C) is shown during her meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri, a key ally of Hezbollah. Berri condemned on Tuesday the European Union’s decision to blacklist Hezbollah and called for its retraction.