EU approves €100M boost for Lebanese Army to ‘strengthen state institutions’ and counter Hezbollah

The European Union has approved an additional €100 million package to reinforce the Lebanese Armed Forces, aiming to stabilize the country as a highly fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah faces critical strains on the ground.  

The funding, announced by the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, is drawn from the European Peace Facility. It marks the fourth bilateral military aid package the bloc has committed to Lebanon in recent years, raising the total amount of EU defense assistance to the state's official military to €182 million ($212 million).

European officials view the deployment and empowerment of the national army as a cornerstone for maintaining long-term peace in the region. Kallas stated that strengthening formal state institutions is essential to containing non-state militant groups. She said that the best way to reduce the threat posed by Hezbollah is to support the Lebanese state, 'empower its institutions, and restore its monopoly on the use of force.'

According to the Council of the European Union, the newly allocated €100 million will be used to significantly scale up the Lebanese military’s operational capabilities. 

The aid package will fund specialized training programs and the delivery of military equipment designed to help state troops secure and monitor sovereign territory, particularly across the country's southern borders where Hezbollah has maintained a dominant presence.  

The European community has designed the program around five distinct priorities. Beyond expanding direct territorial control, the funds will be directed toward improving Lebanon's maritime security and multidomain surveillance radar systems. The aid will also focus on the protection of essential military infrastructure and the bolstering of healthcare assistance for personnel, who remain heavily stretched by the compounding economic and security crises gripping the country