Full support to UNIFIL and a ceasefire. These are the Foreign Affairs Council’s conclusions

“We give our full support to UNIFIL. During this Council no Member State was in favor of a UNIFIL withdrawal”.

These were the words of the European Union High Representative Josep Borrell during the Foreign Affairs Council held in Luxembourg on Monday October 14. 

At the center of the debate, the Israeli-Palestinian and Lebanese conflict. 

“During these weeks we saw tensions, killings and destruction – stated Borrell during the press conference after the Council – we have been condemning Hamas and Hezbollah since the beginning of this conflict, but we should also be clear about what the Israel leadership is been doing and what looks like a full determination to pursue its military objectives at the highest cost”.  

Speaking about the situation in Gaza and Lebanon, the EU High Representative added: “We need a ceasefire. While we were discussing during the Council another small town in South Lebanon has been hit. In this country another “red line” has been crossed”. 

Josep Borrell also stated that the 20% of the Lebanese population has been forcibly displaced: “they are going to Syria not on a voluntary basis. Lebanon is becoming a second Gaza. All of this people have to return to their home countries, but one day they will have no where to go because in the south of Lebanon everything has been destroyed”. 

At the center of the Foreign Affairs Council, also the war in Ukraine, with President Zelensky’s peace plan to be presented at the upcoming EU summit. 

“We must continue with our support to Ukraine, both under a militarily and politically aspect. Peace should not be confused with a capitulation” said Borrell, who also analyzed Russia’s military effort. 

“Russia continues to attack Ukrainian ports and infrastructures. The problem of grain exports is resurfacing: we cannot allow Putin to jeopardize food security by instrumentalizing winter. It will be of capital importance to unblock – as already stated in my proposal – the European Peace Facility fund: we must find a full consensus on this topic”. 

Furthermore, during the Council, part of the discussion also focused on the upcoming elections in Moldova and Georgia which, as High Representative Josep Borrell described, will be “a crucial test for democracy, despite the Russian intimidations”.