The money would be available from this year until 2027, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Thursday in Beirut following talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulidis.
They count on good cooperation in preventing illegal migration and combating smuggling crime. In order to support the country in managing migration, the EU is committed to keeping legal routes to Europe open and to resettling refugees from Lebanon to the EU. The money will also be used to support the Lebanese armed forces and other security forces. “This is primarily regarding providing equipment and training for border administration,” said von der Leyen. In addition, the aid is intended to strengthen the health, education and social systems in Lebanon.
4,000 refugees in Cyprus since the beginning of the year
The Cypriot government in particular recently criticized the growing number of Syrian refugees from Lebanon as no longer sustainable and called for EU action. According to Head of State Christodoulidis, Syrians from Lebanon, regarding 160 kilometers away, have been arriving by boat in the EU island republic in the eastern Mediterranean almost every day in the past few months. Around 4,000 migrants have been counted since the beginning of the year – in the first quarter of the previous year there were only 78.
In absolute numbers, this is significantly less than in Italy, Spain and Greece, for example, where boat refugees arrive from countries such as Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Morocco and Turkey. However, compared to its population, nowhere in the EU are there as many asylum applications as Cyprus. Crisis-hit Lebanon can really use the financial injection from the EU. The country’s economy is ailing, which is also attributed to decades of corruption in politics and business. Almost a year ago, the UN children’s fund Unicef stated that one in ten families was forced to send their children to work.
The refugee camps in Cyprus are overcrowded and the processing of asylum applications submitted by Syrians has been temporarily suspended. Christodoulidis had asked the EU for help several times because of the increase and called for a deal with Lebanon similar to the agreement with Egypt and Tunisia – the EU recently reached new cooperation and support agreements with these countries, which, among other things, provide for billions in financial aid.
Difficult situation in Lebanon
In Lebanon, resentment towards refugees has increased significantly in recent months. Aid organizations complain that declining international funding for refugees is increasing the pressure to continue their journey towards Europe. At the same time, we hear from informed circles in Lebanon that many Syrian refugees do not return to their homeland because they are not entitled to refugee aid there as they are in Lebanon.
According to human rights activists, Lebanese officials have been using discriminatory practices once morest Syrians for years to force them to return to Syria. The human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that in recent months, Lebanese authorities have arbitrarily arrested, tortured and sent Syrians, including opposition activists and army defectors, back to Syria.
The Lebanese rulers are of the opinion that the civil war country is stable and safe enough to guarantee a return. However, the United Nations and other human rights organizations see this differently. They point out that the economic situation makes survival almost impossible and that political refugees have to fear for their lives. In addition, the Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad also does not want the refugees back in his country.
The situation in Lebanon is also politically difficult. In contrast to the authoritarian states of Tunisia and Egypt, the country currently does not even have a head of state. For a year and a half, the election of a president here has repeatedly failed due to power struggles within the political elite. The country is currently led by Prime Minister Najib Mikati. The government is only able to act to a limited extent.
This is also why the EU now wants to strengthen the country’s armed forces. They are seen as a stabilizing factor in the country, which borders Syria and Israel – also in view of the activities of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia. It fires rockets, artillery and anti-tank grenades at Israel from Lebanon – according to its own statements, out of “solidarity” with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Israel, in turn, is fighting Hezbollah’s positions with air and artillery attacks.
Criticism from experts
Experts are critical of von der Leyen’s plans. “The EU is making a big mistake in Lebanon,” said Riad Kahwaji, director of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis. Lebanon, with its major internal conflicts, is in no way prepared to be a host country for refugees. The same politicians who are now receiving money from the EU would be on podiums calling for the Syrians to be thrown out of the country. “It is crazy to see that Europeans believe in the illusion that the Lebanese authorities are able to stem the flow of refugees,” said Kahwaji.
Aid organizations are calling for more humanitarian rather than military aid. Lebanon has been in a deep economic crisis for years, and around three quarters of the residents now live below the poverty line. “Funds for humanitarian aid have been declining for years. This is fueling tensions between locals and refugees,” said Ahmad Safi, program manager for Diakonie Disaster Aid in the region, in a broadcast on Thursday.
Andreas Grünewald, migration expert at Bread for the World, added: “We support any additional support for refugees living in Lebanon and the host communities.” However, the thrust of the new initiative from Cyprus and von der Leyen is going in the wrong direction if it relies on a militarized migration policy. “If the primary goal is to ward off refugees, the agreement will further exacerbate the explosive situation in Lebanon. It also increases the risk that refugees will be deported to Syria in violation of international law,” criticized Grünewald. “Above all, the EU should expand humanitarian aid and enable safe routes for refugees to Europe – for example through appropriate reception programs.”
