France is ready to add Hezbollah's military wing to the European Union’s list of terror organizations, according to Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat published in London.
According to the paper, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius informed US Secretary of State John Kerry of the decision, during a recent meeting.
France has until now resisted calls from the US, Britain, Bulgaria, and Israel to blacklist the group, reportedly over fears that Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite group, would target French peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon.
The French decision is reportedly grounded in evidence presented by Bulgarian officials linking Hezbollah to the July 2012 bus bombing in Burgas, Bulgaria , that killed five Israelis and the Bulgarian driver.
Paris is also reportedly concerned about the tension between allowing Hezbollah to operate and fundraise in Europe – which even Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah has acknowledged is critical to the group’s operations – and trying to boost rebels at war in Syria against Hezbollah and the Bashar al-Assad regime with which it is allied.
Paris is also reportedly concerned about the tension between allowing Hezbollah to operate and fundraise on the Continent – which even Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah has acknowledged is critical to the group’s operations – and trying to boost rebel fighters at war in Syria against Hezbollah and the Bashar al-Assad regime with which it is allied.
Bulgaria has said it will provide more evidence on Hezbollah’s role in the Burgas attack in a move it said should convince European Union countries to put the group on its terrorist list.
Sofia presented the results of its bomb investigation to the EU Foreign Ministers on February 18, urging them to take a harder stance towards Hezbollah. But two days later, Bulgaria's government resigned after mass protests over an economic crisis.
Several European governments are cautious about imposing sanctions on Hezbollah, arguing it could fuel tensions in the Middle East.
Marin Raikov, who was appointed interim Prime Minister in Bulgaria pending elections in May, has said Bulgaria will not initiate the EU procedure for blacklisting Hezbollah. Any other EU government could request such a move, but none has yet done so.
Some EU countries were "not sufficiently convinced" by Bulgaria's evidence, Raikov said in Brussels this week.
"For Bulgaria it is of key importance to have a common position, to have a consensus on this (within the EU)," he told reporters during a visit to NATO headquarters.
"We will continue the investigation. We will continue to work on this very seriously, very actively. We will provide the needed evidence," he said.
"But it's not for Bulgaria to initiate the technical procedure for the listing (of Hezbollah). I think that our partners will be able to do this once they reach a certain level of consensus on this issue," he said.
In the EU, only Holland lists Hezbollah as a terrorist group, while Britain blacklists its military wing.