The European Union foreign ministers have finally decided to list Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation.

They were engrossed in a debate to blacklist the militant group as a terrorist organisation for long, and clip its financial accessibility. The decision to place it in the terror list was not an easy one, especially considering its contribution as a political party and voluntary military force in Lebanon at times of warfare with Israel. While the move required a unanimous vote from the 28-member EU, it is quite surprising that Brussels took the hard ball apparently at the cost of endangering its own security.

The intention is to ensure that Hezbollah is unable to receive money and donations from its sympathisers in Europe and elsewhere, and Brussels is able to keep an eye on its social networking. But from a diplomatic perspective, banning the organisation by labelling it as terrorist would hardly help. Rather it would deny the access that European officials and interlocutors often had in reaching out to the Hezbollah high command and brokering a thaw in adverse situations. Hezbollah’s political and international affairs wing had been a success in making a point because they, unlike many of their likes elsewhere, adhered to the call of reason, especially from Western countries, Asia and Africa. That is why the government of Lebanon had officially time and again requested the EU good offices to desist from moving against Hezbollah, as the party held direct stakes in peace. Which is why some argue that it is difficult to distinguish fully between the group’s military and political wings, and any act of coercion could further destabilise the fragile situation in Lebanon.

The EU could have a better job by getting down to a meaningful discourse on peace prospects in Syria. This modus operandi of moving against a militant group and then backtracking, as in the case of Tamil Tigers and the Taleban, has hardly helped. It’s time for the EU, which is in the process of reasserting itself in the region as is evident from a new policy that limits travel access to Israelis settled in the occupied territories, to face the reality of Hezbollah’s indispensability and talk to
it squarely.