EU countries block blacklisting of Hezbollah

[Baluarte]

BRUSSELS - A small group of EU countries has again blocked Britain's bid to blacklist Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Diplomatic sources said Austria and the Czech republic led opposition at a meeting of EU countries' counter-terrorism specialists in Brussels on Wednesday (19 June).

Ireland, Italy and Poland also voiced concerns.

Objections centre around shaky evidence that Hezbollah bombed a bus containing Jewish tourists in Bulgaria last year.

The Bulgarian foreign ministry told EUobserver on Wednesday its investigation is incomplete.

Its spokesman, Dimitar Yaprakov, said Sofia is still waiting for "replies to the current judicial requests in connection with the Bulgarian investigation from our foreign partners."

Some of the naysayers are worried the move might destabilise Lebanon, where Hezbollah is a popular political party.

The details of the British proposal - to blacklist Hezbollah's military wing, but not its political branch - are also posing problems.

"The Czech position is that it's impossible to separate the military arm [of Hezbollah] from the civilian one," an EU source said.

The talks are set to continue.

But Britain plans to kick them up a level, leaving aside the security specialists and turning to senior EU diplomats or foreign ministers instead.

EU foreign policy heavyweights France, Germany and the Netherlands back London.

Another EU diplomat said Wednesday's talks saw more countries fall into the pro-sanctions camp.

"More member states came round to the view that Hezbollah needs to be listed … This was only the second meeting on the subject and there is a clear momentum towards listing the group. But now it will have to be discussed at a more senior level," the contact said.

If the UK gets its way, pro-Hezbollah sympathisers in Europe will find it more difficult to donate money.

It will also stigmatise Israel's fiercest enemy in the Middle East.

"We have been saying for a long time that the EU needs to take this, maybe bold, but necessary step," Yoel Mester, the spokesman for the Israeli mission to the EU, said.


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Once again Austria does the right thing :thumb001: Well done for all the other countries that oppose the manipulation of perfidious Albion.

[Philo]

You should join Hezoballah and try to bomb a bus of tourists in Sofia too. That guy killed I think 5 people, hopefully you will be less succesfull and will be apperhended to the authorithies.

[Baluarte]

Once again, the US ignores the principle of international law to "not meddle in the internal affairs of other countries"

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US Congressmen push back against EU on failure to blacklist Hezbollah

WASHINGTON -- After developments on Wednesday set back efforts to convince the European Union to list Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, members of Congress are expressing their disappointment and calling for a renewed push against reluctant EU member states.

Great Britain had been leading the initiative, but Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic continue to harbor reservations, Reuters reported, fearful that the listing would result in terrorist reprisals in Europe and further upheaval in the Middle East.

In a statement to The Jerusalem Post, Congressman Eliot Engel (NY-16) said he was "very disappointed" that some countries in the EU "continue to believe that Hezbollah is not a terrorist organization."

"EU-US cooperation on combating global terrorism will continue to face unnecessary obstacles until Hezbollah is properly labeled a terrorist organization, in its entirety," the congressman said. "Nonetheless, I applaud the efforts of the UK, France and Germany, and am confident that this situation will change in the future."

Speaking to the Post, Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO-05) signaled that the pressure on reluctant EU countries would not abate.

“It is critical that our friends and allies across the Atlantic publicly declare Hezbollah a terror organization so that we can choke off the funding this dangerous terrorist group gets across Europe,” Lamborn said. “All of our friends and allies in Europe need to step forward against this organization which has killed more Americans than any other after al-Qaida because inaction is only emboldening them."

[Anglojew]

You should join Hezoballah and try to bomb a bus of tourists in Sofia too. That guy killed I think 5 people, hopefully you will be less succesfull and will be apperhended to the authorithies.

Baluarte thinks he's Carlos the Jackal.

[Baluarte]

Baluarte thinks he's Carlos the Jackal.

Wrong, I don't see how threatening the life of civilians in European capitals gets anything done.
Carlos was Venezuelan btw.

[Philo]

Wrong, I don't see how threatening the life of civilians in European capitals gets anything done.
Carlos was Venezuelan btw.

You obviously don't see anything wrong with killing innocents so might as well do it too.

[Wadaad]

Am I the only one noticing, since Obama's reelection it seems like the memo is to cut Islamist groups some slack? Even Al Shabaab have seen less drone strikes against them in 2013 than 2012 (peaked) and 2011. The US talking to the Taliban in Qatar...Hezbollah not allowed to be black listed in the EU...these sort of things would be unfathomable back in say, 2001-2007

[Baluarte]

Am I the only one noticing, since Obama's reelection it seems like the memo is to cut Islamist groups some slack? Even Al Shabaab have seen less drone strikes against them in 2013 than 2012 (peaked) and 2011. The US talking to the Taliban in Qatar...Hezbollah not allowed to be black listed in the EU...these sort of things would be unfathomable back in say, 2001-2007

No, you're reading too deep into it.

I haven't followed drone strikes to Al Shabaab, but the tendency with UAV has been to rise and rise steadily. Not to mention, 2013 is not over yet, do you mean partial/quarterly numbers?

The Taliban talks are taking place because the US is bound to disengage from Afghanistan next year, and I suppose they want to find an agreement that will allow Karzai's plutocracy to survive after they're gone.

And regarding Hezbollah, it's the whole opposite.
Think about it this way, a couple of years ago, France didn't consider the movement to be a danger or a terrorist threat. Bahrain didn't either.

What you're seeing here, is the US/Israel pressure pushing harder and harder to get it outlawed in more places, getting countries to comply (France, Netherlands, Germany) and reduce the funding Hezbollah may get in Europe, seeing as they're proving to be pretty effective in Syria, while playing an important role in the protests against Hamad Al-Khalifa in Bahrain.

Hell, even Bulgaria's government, who has CLEARLY stated that they don't have conclusive evidence to link Hezbollah to the bombings in Burgas, was lobbied quite hard and forced to yield:

Note from this morning:

Bulgaria back in line with EU on Hezbollah bomb link: diplomats
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/20/us-bulgaria-hezbollah-idUSBRE95J0M720130620


Bulgaria alarmed many of its EU partners this month when Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin, from the new Socialist government, backed away from that stance and questioned whether there was enough proof of Hezbollah's role.

However, since then Bulgaria has been lobbied by other EU states and has decided to change direction again, according to two Western diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity.

I have no doubt Burgas was a false flag.

The failure to blacklist it comes from the opposition of those countries where the political class still retains a modicum of common sense in their foreign policy, and are not pure pawns of Zionism.
Italy and Austria, countries with military contingents in the Golan Heights, oppose the outlawing, since they know first hand that Hezbollah plays an important role in the powerplay in Lebanon, and that offsetting the situation can only worsen things.

The UK has announced that they'll continue trying to get everyone to comply. I do hope that this time, they'll not get away with it like they did with the arms embargo.

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A couple of months ago, the Austrian government opposed the disclosure of banking data, and tried to retain the privacy regulations. Being alone, they couldn't. Hopefully, with the support of a bigger country like Italy, and that of Czech Republic, they'll manage to block this long enough for the Brits to desist.

[Wadaad]

Agree Burgas is a false flag...

I also think the Saudi Arabia virus (MERS) will be blamed on Syrian/Iranian biological agents

[Baluarte]

No doubt about it.

Look at the ridiculous accusations regarding sarin nerve gas. It doesn't even matter if the UN and Carla del Ponte say that it was the rebels who did it.

All what matters is that Hague/Fabius/Kerry agree to it and get the official media to repeat it, and bam, the sheeple will believe it.

Just like Powell agreed later that there were no WMDs in Iraq, they'll later say "Oops, we were wrong about Assad using chemical weapons...sowwy"