EU ambassador to meet Hezbollah leadership

The European Union ambassador to Lebanon Angelina Eichhorst will meet with leaders of the militant Shiite movement Hezbollah on Thursday, diplomatic sources told Arab Today. Eichhorst has already met several Shiite Lebanese officials including Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri and Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour, the sources said. The ambassador is also expected to meet with Hezbollah’s foreign affairs official Ammar Moussawi to explain the EU’s reasons for putting the military wing of the Shiite movement on its terrorist blacklist. The EU ruled to list Hezbollah’s armed wing as a terrorist organisation on Monday in response to a bus bombing in Bulgaria last year and Hezbollah's role in the war in Syria. The sources credited Berri with convincing Hezbollah leaders of the importance of meeting with the European diplomat given the conditions currently facing Lebanon and the region as a whole. At a ministerial meeting on Wednesday, Berri reiterated his opposition to the EU decision to blacklist the movement’s armed wing, saying it will harm both the EU and Lebanon, while serving the interests of Israel. Lebanon’s politicians and diplomats have been in a state of alert following the EU announcement, with Prime Minister Najib Mikati calling on the EU ambassador to clarify the reasons that pushed European ministers to take the controversial step. Lebanese diplomats in several EU countries have made clear their refusal to condemn Hezbollah for the bus bomb attack in Burgas, Bulgaria, that killed five Israeli tourists in July 2012. The bombings prompted Britain to push the EU to change its stance towards Hezbollah, although the Iran-backed group denies any involvement in the killings. Meanwhile, Lebanese economists have sought to reassure the country that the EU decision will not harm its economic interests, arguing that a similar decision by the US administration has not affected economic relations between the two countries.