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| EU declares Hezbollah's military wing terror group |
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 The European Union placed the military wing of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah on its terror list on Monday in a major change of its policy toward the region.
The EU's 28 foreign ministers reached the decision unanimously at their monthly meeting, swiftly swaying the last nations that had any doubts, AP reported.
It came after prolonged diplomatic pressure from the United states, Britain and Israel.
The blacklisting would mean imposing visa bans on individuals and asset freezes on organizations associated with the group.
"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.
Last week, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman asked the European Union not to label Hezbollah a terrorist organization.
The Lebanese president made the remarks in a statement issued by his office on Thursday.
Suleiman had "asked the foreign minister to notify the European Commission and member states of the government's request, and not to place Hezbollah, an essential component of Lebanese society, on the list of terror organizations," the statement said.
He told the EU in the statement not to take "any decision… in a precipitate manner, and without being based on objective and irrefutable proof."
Earlier this month, Britain renewed its efforts to get Hezbollah on the EU’s terror list, but France, Italy and Germany are still reluctant to back the British move.
On June 4, EU counter-terrorism specialists met on the issue but failed to reach an agreement.
Last year, the EU flatly rejected an Israeli call to blacklist Hezbollah as a terrorist group.
The EU regards Hezbollah as an active political party in Lebanon. It says there is not enough evidence to warrant listing the Lebanese group as a “terror group.”
Led by France, European countries argue that their relations with Lebanon, where Hezbollah provides extensive social services and its political wing holds government power, would be damaged by the designation.
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