VK doet tweede poging om Hezbollah op zwarte lijst te krijgen (en)

BRUSSELS - The UK will have a second go at persuading sceptics to blacklist Hezbollah at a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday (19 June).

Britain in May filed a proposal to designate the military wing of the Lebanese group as a terrorist entity.

France, Germany and the Netherlands back the idea, even though The Hague would prefer to list Hezbollah's political bureau as well.

Several other countries - including Bulgaria, Estonia and Hungary - are willing to "go with the flow" if a consensus comes together.

But the Czech republic and Poland emerged as naysayers in preliminary talks on 4 June.

"On the basis of the note I got from the last meeting, there will not be a positive decision [on Wednesday]," one EU contact told this website, describing Poland's position.

Diplomatic sources told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a New-York-based newswire, that Prague and Warsaw got cold feet due to Bulgaria's handling of the situation.

Britain's main argument is that Hezbollah blew up a bus containing Jewish tourists in the Bulgarian city of Burgas last year.

Bulgaria in February said it had evidence that Hezbollah did it.

But following a change of government in Sofia, its foreign ministry backtracked in early June and said the evidence is "inconclusive."

Its latest statement, on 14 June, said Bulgaria has "not changed its position" on Hezbollah's guilt, but noted that its police needs to do more to "present an even more solid foundation" for the EU decision.

For its part, the UK says Cyprus' recent jailing of a man on charges of scouting targets for Hezbollah is another factor in favour.

France says Hezbollah's decision to fight on the side of the Syrian regime also merits EU sanctions.

"We believe there is enough evidence to go ahead. But more needs to be done to convince other member states," a British diplomat told this website on Tuesday.

He noted it took London several months to engineer the lifting of the EU arms embargo on Syrian rebels.

The meeting on Wednesday is taking place at the level of counter-terrorism specialists posted from EU capitals to Brussels.

The security forum - called "CP931" after the EU's "Common Position" number 931, which created the bloc's terrorism blacklist some 12 years ago - takes decisions by unanimity.

But even if London gets a breakthrough, a CP931 proposal has to be endorsed by two more layers of senior EU diplomats and by EU foreign ministers before it becomes law.