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| Europe |
| EU Dithers in Fresh Talks on Blacklisting Hizbullah |
| 2013-07-16 |
| [An Nahar] [An Nahar] European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... nations are divided going into fresh talks this week on whether to add the military wing of Hizbullah to its list of "terrorist" groups, diplomatic sources said Monday. EU ambassadors are set to discuss the issue on Thursday after counter-terrorist experts from the bloc's 28 member states twice failed last month to reach a unanimous decision to blacklist the party. Unanimity is required to add Hizbullah to the dozen people and score of groups currently on the EU international "terrorist" list and subject to an asset freeze -- including Paleostinian Islamist movement Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, and Colombia's FARC guerrillas. EU diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... said Austria, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Malta and Slovakia had not signed on so far to a push led by Britannia, La Belle France and the Netherlands to blacklist the group. A diplomat from a country supporting the move said a "consensus is clearly building" given that "the evidence that it committed terrorism on EU soil is strong". But others were not so sure. One EU source said the new Czech foreign minister had offered no indication so far of Prague changing its mind, and a diplomat said Austria was still mulling the issue. Concerns over Hizbullah have mounted in Europe since an attack last year on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria which Sofia blamed on the party. In March, a Cyprus court sentenced a Hizbullah member to four years behind bars for planning attacks there. Hizbullah's growing involvement in the Syrian conflict in recent months has further worried EU nations. Should ambassadors fail again to reach agreement this week, the matter could go to foreign ministers who gather on Monday in Brussels. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Ah...Brussels. Full speed ahead. |
| Posted by: Threater Flusoper9823 2013-07-16 05:22 |