German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has proposed an EU-mandated force for southern Lebanon after the UN peacekeeping mission ends, arguing that Europe should prevent a security vacuum along the border with Israel.
“We should examine in the EU whether we can ensure that no security vacuum arises with a European mandate following the UNIFIL mission,” Wadephul told RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland in an interview reported by Reuters on July 17.
The UN Security Council extended the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon for a final time in August 2025. The mission, deployed since 1978, is scheduled to cease operations on December 31, 2026, before beginning a year-long withdrawal.
Wadephul said a European force could create conditions for Israeli troops to withdraw without Hezbollah returning to evacuated areas. The initiative remains a German proposal rather than agreed EU policy and would require support from other member states.
The proposal follows the sixth round of U.S.-brokered negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, concluded in Rome on July 15. Negotiators agreed on guidelines for proposed “pilot zones” under a framework reached in Washington on June 26. The plan envisages the disarmament of armed groups, deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces and a phased Israeli withdrawal.
Hezbollah rejects disarmament, while Israel says its forces will remain as long as the group retains its weapons. Any European mission would therefore inherit the same unresolved dispute that constrained UNIFIL for decades.
