European Union grants €34 million to Lebanon in support of national stability and the protection of maritime resources

During his visit to Lebanon, the European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn signed today with the President of the Council for Development and Reconstruction Mr. Nabil el Jisr two financing agreements totalling 34 million Euros in grants in support of national stability and the protection of maritime resources. The signing ceremony took place at the Grand Serail in the presence of H.E. the President of the Council of Ministers Tammam Salam, H.E. the Minister of Interior and Municipalities Nouhad Mashnouq and H.E. the Minister of Environment Mohammad Mashnouq, as well as EU Member States ambassadors.

15 million Euros will be provided to "Building National Stability", for greater coordination and interoperability between security institutions. There are three core activities:

• Integrated Border Management, covering migration flows, trade facilitation and the fight against organised crime;
• Training capabilities of the Internal Security Forces, with a specific emphasis on professionalisation (in particular of the police in dealing with vulnerable persons);
• Emergency preparedness and crisis response with a focus on Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threats.

"Protection and Sustainable Development of Maritime Resources in Lebanon" will be funded with 19 million Euros, to help preserve the biodiversity of the Lebanese coastal zones. There are four main actions:

• Finalising the treatment and disposal of the remaining 2600 m³ of waste stored since the 2006 oil spill;
• Readiness for exploration and production of offshore oil and gas resources;
• Decreasing the land-based sources of pollution in coastal areas such as municipal waste and industrial waste;
• Recovery of affected marine ecosystems and developing marine and coastal biodiversity.

The two actions are based on the priorities of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Single Support Framework, which was signed by the European Union and Lebanon in October 2014. The MoU sets the priorities and financial allocations for the cooperation between the European Union and Lebanon for the current period 2014-2016.