BRUSSELS — The European Union placed the military wing of Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant group and political party, on its terror list Monday in a major policy change. The EU's 28 foreign ministers reached the decision unanimously at their monthly meeting, swiftly swaying several nations that had expressed opposition by committing to continued political dialogue with Beirut. “The EU has sent a clear message that it stands united against terrorism,” said British Foreign Secretary William Hague. “It shows that no organization can carry out terrorist acts on European soil.” German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle also emphasized European unity. “We will not stand for terror in Europe,” he said. “From no one.” The blacklisting entails asset freezes and paves the way for possible travel bans on members of Hezbollah's military wing. “I'm satisfied that we took this important step today, by dealing with the military wing of Hezbollah, freezing its assets, hindering its fundraising and thereby limiting its capacity to act,” said Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans. But implementation promises to be complicated since officials will have to unravel the links between the different wings within Hezbollah's organizational network and see who could be targeted for belonging to the military wing. Diplomats late Monday were working on pinpointing the entities and organizations that make up the military wing. Because of this legal uncertainty it was unclear how many assets could be involved, and how many individuals could eventually be targeted. – Reuters
