Behind France’s pressure for a political embargo on Lebanon in the European Union.
France continues to push for EU sanctions against Lebanese officials, and 17 countries have so far opposed it.
Despite France’s influential role in the European Union, it has not yet been able to secure the support of its allies to impose political sanctions on Lebanese officials, the Tasnim news agency reported.
Seventeen European countries, led by Hungary and Italy, opposed France’s proposal to impose a political embargo on Lebanese officials, calling it unrealistic. The Council of Foreign Affairs also stated that a legal system should be established in accordance with international and legal standards in the field of money laundering, embezzlement and smuggling to impose sanctions on Lebanon, and that political sanctions are not justified.
This means that the boycott of the Lebanese authorities, as threatened by the European Union in recent months, requires a proper system and mechanism that does not yet exist. On the other hand, some European countries are trying to impose sanctions similar to the US sanctions on Lebanese politicians, and the pioneer of this project is France.
Over the past few months, Lebanon has become a major issue on the Council of Europe’s agenda, with some members deciding to impose sanctions on some Lebanese politicians, especially after the bombing of the port of Beirut on 4 August 2020 at the request of France. They could form a government to exercise.
But not all members agreed. Hungary was the first country to oppose the issue, calling for a legal system to impose sanctions on Lebanon. Evidence, however, shows that the main effort by France and some of its allies to boycott Lebanese President Michel Aoun and the head of the National Free Movement, Gibran Basil, was thwarted by actions by Hungary and several other countries.
In fact, Hungary and its allies believe that sanctions against a country or its officials should be based on clear frameworks for crimes such as money laundering, tax evasion and money laundering, and that no one can be sanctioned on political charges without evidence. Accordingly, at a recent EU meeting, it was agreed that special legal groups be set up to establish a system of sanctions against Lebanon. Of course, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian put a lot of pressure on Hungary and Italy to back down, but he did not succeed.
