European Union blacklists Hezbollah's military arm

In a major reversal of policy, European Union ministers agreed on Monday to put the military wing of Lebanese group Hezbollah on the EU terror list.

The EU’s 28 foreign ministers reached the decision unanimously at their monthly meeting, swiftly swaying the last nations that had any doubts.

Dutch foreign minister Frans Timmermans welcomed the decision.

"It is good that the EU has decided to call Hezbollah what it is: a terrorist organization," he said. "For years the Netherlands has pushed for listing Hezbollah... that's why I'm satisfied that we took this important step today."

The blacklisting would mean imposing visa bans on individuals and freezing assets on organizations associated with the group. But implementation will be complicated because officials will have to unravel the links between the different wings within Hezbollah's organizational network and see who can be targeted.

The EU had resisted pressure from Washington and Israel to blacklist Hezbollah, arguing that it could fuel instability in Lebanon, where the group is part of the government, and add to tensions in the Middle East.

Britain and the Netherlands had pressured their EU peers since May to blacklist the group, citing evidence that it was behind a deadly bus bombing in Bulgaria last year. Hezbollah continues to deny any involvement in the bombing.

Hezbollah's involvement in Syria is widely seen as another reason the EU placed the group on its terror list.

Britain, backed by France and the Netherlands, has argued that Hezbollah's growing involvement in the Syrian war means Lebanon is already in a fragile situation and that the EU must weigh the possibility of future attacks in Europe.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman issued a statement last Thursday asking the EU not to label Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

The statement warned against making "any decision… in a precipitate manner, and without being based on objective and irrefutable proof" arguing that Hezbollah is an "essential component of Lebanese society."

Political wing unaffected

EU ministers also noted that making use of "restrictive measures to combat terrorism does not prevent the continuation of dialogue with all political parties in Lebanon."

"Legitimate financial transfers" and aid will not be affected, the ministers said in a statement, according to the Agence France Presse.

Some EU diplomats, responding to concerns that sanctions could further radicalize Hezbollah, have argued that targeting the military wing could, in the long term, persuade some of its members to move away from violence into the political sphere.

Nations that have blacklisteded the group include the U.S., Canada, the UK, and the Netherlands.

Al Jazeera and wire services