EU to Discuss 'Measures' after Bulgaria Implicates Hizbullah in Israeli Bus Attack

The European Union now faces the difficult task of dealing with demands to designate Hizbullah as a terrorist organization after Bulgaria announced Tuesday that the Lebanese party was behind a bomb attack in July that killed five Israeli tourists and one Bulgarian.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement that the EU should “respond robustly to an attack on European soil.”

“The Home Secretary and I will be talking to our EU colleagues about the measures we can now take to continue to make our citizens safer,” he said.

He urged the Lebanese government to “fully cooperate with the investigation.”

But a U.S. official told the Associated Press that France and Germany, wary of coming under pressure to condemn the group, had urged investigators not to publicly name Hizbullah in the bombing.

François Heisbourg, special adviser to the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris, told the New York Times on Monday that Paris tries “to avoid political destabilization and radicalization in Lebanon.”

The Netherlands has already declared Hizbullah a terrorist organization. Britain lists only the group’s militant wing as a terrorist organization, distinguishing it from the political side.

The investigators implicated Hizbullah in the bombing of a bus, which killed five Israelis and their Bulgarian driver at Burgas airport, by saying they had information on financing and membership of Hizbullah for two people including the bomber.

The findings already began putting pressure on the EU to designate Hizbullah as a terrorist organization, as the United States and Israel have done.

The Obama administration called Tuesday for Europe to take "proactive action" to disrupt Hizbullah.

In strongly worded statements, Secretary of State John Kerry and White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said the Europeans, along with other countries that have balked at imposing sanctions on Hizbullah, must act to prevent additional attacks.

"We strongly urge other governments around the world - and particularly our partners in Europe - to take immediate action to crack down on Hizbullah," Kerry said in his first substantive statement as secretary of state. "We need to send an unequivocal message to this terrorist group that it can no longer engage in despicable actions with impunity."

Kerry also discussed the matter with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in a phone call, the State Department said.

Ashton’s spokesman, Maja Kocijancic, said the EU would discuss the implications of Hizbullah’s alleged involvement in an attack on European soil.

Any decision on adding Hizbullah to the EU list of terrorist organizations would require a unanimous decision by the foreign ministers of all 27 EU countries, whose next scheduled meeting is Feb. 18. Under EU law, to declare a group a terrorist organization there must be proof that those who control it are terrorists, not just that its members were involved in a terror plot. The designation would also require the EU to freeze Hizbullah's assets in Europe and to work to choke off further funds reaching the group.

In his statement, Brennan, who is President Barack Obama's nominee to run the Central Intelligence Agency, said the Bulgarian investigation "exposes Hizbullah for what it is: a terrorist group that is willing to recklessly attack innocent men, women, and children, and that poses a real and growing threat not only to Europe, but to the rest of the world."

"We commend Bulgarian authorities for their determination and commitment to ensuring that Hizbullah is held to account for this act of terror on European soil," he said.

Canada also joined the chorus, with Foreign Minister John Baird issuing a statement saying: "We urge the European Union and all partners who have not already done so to list Hizbullah as a terrorist entity and prosecute terrorist acts committed by this inhumane organization to the fullest possible extent."

Bulgaria's Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov told reporters on Tuesday that investigators believed the two Hizbullah members had Canadian and Australian passports and lived in Lebanon since 2006 and 2010.

Australia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr said Wednesday that “the Australian Federal Police has worked with Bulgarian authorities in pursuit of those responsible for the bombing.”

"The Australian government condemns all acts of political violence and terrorism and welcomes today's evidence of progress in this investigation," he said in a statement.

Carr said Australia had listed the Hizbullah External Security Organization as a terrorist group since 2003, and support for or membership of the organization was an offense under Australian law.

Also Wednesday, Bulgaria's foreign minister defended himself against accusations that Sofia lacked the proof to blame Hizbullah.

"If Bulgaria did not have enough arguments to announce yesterday that the traces in this attack lead to Hizbullah's military wing, we would not have done it," Nikolay Mladenov said on BNT television.

Bulgarian analysts on Wednesday accused the government of not having enough proof to level what may turn out to a dangerous accusation, and of kowtowing to Washington and Israel.

"We have joined the camp of U.S. and Israel... allowing to be drawn into the big game where Hizbullah has to be eliminated as it supports the regime in Syria," international security expert Simeon Nikolov said.

"Do our leaders realize the responsibility they take in announcing results, which are not categorically backed by evidence?" the expert added on BNT television, slamming what he saw as "a strategic mistake" by the government.

"What is this 'justified assumption'? We entered a game, which is not ours without having any categorical proof to show," Yovo Nikolov from Capital weekly newspaper added.