Europe Steps in to Help a State Reluctant to Assert Its Authority

The Council of the European Union announced on Monday the launch of a three-year support mission for Lebanon, known as the EU Support Mission in Lebanon (EUSM Lebanon).

The mission, established under the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP), aims to “contribute to peace and security in Lebanon, support the strengthening of state institutions and promote lasting stability in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701,” according to a statement issued by the EU Delegation to Lebanon.

It will focus primarily on the Lebanese army and the Internal Security Forces (ISF), with two “complementary military and civilian pillars, operating under a unified political mandate.”

The military component will provide “advisory support and training to strengthen the capabilities of the Lebanese Armed Forces, for border security and maritime security.” Its activities will focus in particular on land border surveillance and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, counter-smuggling and operational coordination.

The civilian component will provide advisory support to the ISF, including specialized training aimed at “strengthening their operational capabilities and developing sustainable training structures.” The areas covered will include cybercrime and anti-smuggling.

The mission will also seek to strengthen port security governance, including at the Port of Beirut.

Announced four days after EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas’s official visit to Beirut on Thursday, October 8, the initiative is intended to help the Lebanese state restore its authority and sovereignty through its own security forces. Yet recent seizures of explosives in the Bekaa Valley underscore the challenges facing the authorities, which remain reluctant to assert their authority in this area.

Explosives Seized in Hermel

The Lebanese army seized 200 kilograms of explosive materials on Monday in the Hermel area, near the Syrian border. Those transporting the materials, however, managed to escape into Syria.

A few days earlier, a checkpoint at Dahr el-Baydar had yielded 560 kilograms of TNT, 200 kilograms of C4, a highly powerful explosive, and equipment used to manufacture explosives. The cargo was found in a vehicle bound for Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Preliminary findings suggest that both the driver and his passenger are members of the Iran-backed group. Ibrahim Moussaoui, a Hezbollah MP and senior figure in the group, appeared to confirm this indirectly in an ill-judged response to remarks by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. On Monday, Salam vowed to pursue the case to the end and hold those responsible, as well as those who ordered the operation, to account.

Speaking in Parliament, Moussaoui said: “If it turns out that the seized vehicle belongs to the Resistance, everyone should know that it has nothing to be ashamed of and carries out its duty openly, in full view of everyone.”

He called it “unacceptable” to link the materials to preparations for attacks, invoking “the Resistance’s natural right to self-defense” on the grounds that “Israel occupies part of Lebanon and that the army and government lack both the necessary weapons and the political will to act.”

Moussaoui’s remarks did little more than reinforce the concerns raised by the seizures. To justify the presence of these materials in the name of the fight against Israel is to insult the intelligence of the Lebanese people.

The Government’s Ostrich Policy

The government, meanwhile, continues to pursue its ostrich policy, treating the case as a criminal matter to be handled strictly through the courts. This approach stands in stark contrast to the serious political and security implications of the discovery.

Moussaoui’s remarks have thus left the authorities facing a series of pressing questions that, unfortunately, remain unanswered. How can the state assert its monopoly on security and uphold its sovereignty when Hezbollah officials, starting with its leader, Naim Qassem, brazenly claim the right to retain their autonomy and operational capabilities, including the use of highly powerful explosives?

What purpose would the European mission serve without clear political decisions to support it and ensure that its objectives are met?

Above all, how long does the government intend to remain passive in the face of a group it has itself declared illegal?

Does the threat these discoveries pose to public order not warrant swift action commensurate with the danger they reveal? The seizures inevitably raise further questions: how many kilograms of explosives have escaped the security forces’ notice, and who are they intended to target?

Justice Minister Adel Nassar himself stressed that the quantity seized was enough to blow up an entire neighborhood, while pledging that no one would be allowed to obstruct or delay the investigation. But what happens next?