The Lebanese parliamentary delegation, comprising of Foreign and Emigrants Affairs Committee Chair, MP Fadi Alama, and MPs Salim al-Sayegh, Simon Abi Ramia and Elias al-Khoury, pursued Wednesday their visit to Brussels to discuss the prevailing situation in Lebanon with senior European officials.
In this context, the delegation met with the European Union Commissioner for Crisis Management and Humanitarian Affairs Policy, Janez Lenarcic, followed by a meeting with the President of the General Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean, Cypriot MP Costas Mavritis.
The delegation also held a meeting with the Director General of the Middle East Department at the Belgian Foreign Ministry, Hubert Koormans.
A parliamentary session was later held in the presence of each of the MPs, Chair of the Levant Committee in the European Parliament, Isabel Santos, Chairman of the Human Rights Committee in Parliament, Udo Bullman, and members of his parliamentary team. This was followed by a meeting with MP Christophe Grudl
er, Lebanon’s rapporteur in the “Renew Europe” party, which is close to French President Emmanuel Macron.
The delegation touched on the prominent Lebanese dossiers, particularly pertaining to the serious repercussions of the Syrian displacement to Lebanon from the economic, social, security and financial aspects and the existential threat at the level of the diverse Lebanese structure.
In this connection, the delegation cautioned against the threats of this dossier and called on the Europeans to adopt a creative policy that supports the return of the displaced to Syria and to help them in their country, especially since the majority periodically return to their home country despite having a refugee card from UNHCR, which implies that they no longer hold the status of political refugees due to their repeated return to Syria, but are actually “economic refugees’ as they continue to receive financial support from international institutions.
“Lebanon, with its geography, area, and pluralism, cannot accept the
continuation of displacement indefinitely, as the international community must take immediate measures to contribute to the rapid return of displaced Syrians to their country,” the Lebanese delegation members underlined.
They also touched on the ongoing conflict in the region as a result of the Gaza War and reiterated the official Lebanese position based on respect for international resolutions and the resolutions of Arab summit conferences. They called for respecting the rights of the Palestinian people, the first of which is their right to an independent state, in addition to emphasizing respect for Resolution 1701 with regard to Lebanon and stopping the repeated Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty and ensuring the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Lebanese territories it occupies.
On a different note, the Lebanese delegation focused in its meetings with European representatives on the need for countries to reverse their decision of halting UNRWA funding, as this leads to more social and dail
y-living crises for Palestinian refugees, especially in Lebanon.
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon