Ambassadors of Member States of the European Union visited today the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Present were the Ambassadors and Representatives of: the European Union, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Spain. 

The EU Ambassadors were welcomed at UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura by the Force Commander General Stefano Del Col. They visited a UNIFIL position along the Blue Line where the events leading to the July 2006 conflict unfolded, and they took stock of the current security situation at the border. 

The Chargée d’Affaires a.i. of the Delegation of the European Union, Julia Koch de Biolley, said: “The European Union and its Member States acknowledge the unique and important role that UNIFIL is playing in ensuring Lebanon’s security and stability.” She expressed the European Union’s continued support to UNIFIL, including its maritime component, whose deployment alongside the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) is considered crucial to maintaining stability in southern Lebanon and along the Lebanese shores. 

The Ambassadors of the delegation commended the ongoing works to establish a new EU-funded Headquarters for the LAF Model Regiment, as a commitment of the State to consolidate its authority and control the security of south Lebanon. They further recalled the importance to provide UNIFIL with the necessary means and equipment to guarantee its full operational capability, to which several EU Member States are making significant contributions.

The EU Ambassadors reaffirmed their commitment to the unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Lebanon, and stressed the importance of Lebanon’s commitment to the full implementation of its international obligations, including UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006).

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