German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has proposed replacing the expiring United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon with an EU-mandated force to prevent a security vacuum, he told the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland. "We should examine in the EU whether we can ensure that no security vacuum arises with a European mandate following the UNIFIL mission," Wadephul said in an interview published on Friday. The UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission expires on December 31, 2026. Germany's parliament extended the country's participation in the mission for the final time just weeks ago. Wadephul said Lebanon, with a stabilizing government, represented "one of the most hopeful developments in the region at the moment." Lebanon and Israel held ambassador-level talks at the US embassy in Rome on Tuesday and Wednesday — their sixth round of face-to-face negotiations since a new war erupted on March 2 between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, triggered by the wider regional conflict. An EU-mandated force could "create the conditions for the Israeli army to withdraw without Hezbollah returning with its terror," the minister added. The proposal comes as European nations seek to maintain regional stability while balancing relations with Israel and Lebanon.
