The European Union will provide Lebanon with about one billion euros in economic aid to stem the flow of Syrian refugees, the dpa news agency reported on Thursday.
The economic package will be used to strengthen health, education and social services in Lebanon, EU officials said. There will also be special funds to help Lebanon’s security forces and army fight human smuggling, as well as economic and financial reforms.
The European Union will offer assistance when the bloc’s chief executive and the Cypriot president jointly visit Beirut on Thursday, a Cypriot official said on Tuesday.
Cyprus, an EU member, is increasingly concerned about a surge of Syrian refugees arriving on the Mediterranean island. Lebanon, just 100 miles (185 kilometres) from Cyprus, is home to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees. Cypriot government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said in a statement:
The President of the European Commission will present an economic aid package for Lebanon.
President Ursula von der Leyen, who is due to arrive in Cyprus on Wednesday, will travel to Beirut with Cypriot President Nicos Christodoulides on Thursday morning.
According to Letimbiotis, the talks will focus on the problems Lebanon is currently facing and the stability reforms it needs. Letymbiotis said:
The implementation of this (package) was at the initiative of President Christodoulides and the Republic of Cyprus and is practical proof of the active role the EU can play in our region.
Lebanon, which has been in economic crisis since 2019, has asked friendly countries to continue supporting it but has failed to implement most of the reforms required by the International Monetary Fund to access its funding.
Some Lebanese officials have used the growing presence of migrants and refugees in the country as a bargaining chip, threatening to stop intercepting migrant boats travelling to Europe unless Lebanon receives more economic support.
More than 2,000 Syrians arrived in Cyprus in the first quarter of this year, up from 78 in the same period last year. Earlier this month it took the unprecedented step of sending patrol ships into international waters off Lebanon to prevent border crossings and said it was suspending Syrian asylum applications.
