European Union (EU) flags next to the European Commission building in Brussels, Belgium, on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.
The EU said Tuesday it was looking to launch a mission to train the Lebanese army in the coming months -- but said it would not replace the UN peacekeeping force.
The United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL, has roughly 7,500 personnel from nearly 50 countries, and has been in place since 1978.
Its presence has not prevented repeated outbreaks of conflict, with southern Lebanon seeing successive wars between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
In August last year, however, the UN Security Council, under US pressure, decided to end UNIFIL's mandate on December 31, 2026.
"Ministers discussed our plans for a new EU mission to advise and train the country's armed forces, including on border and maritime security," EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said after a meeting of the bloc's defence ministers in Ireland.
"The EU is not seeking to replace UNIFIL, we are investing in Lebanon's capacity to provide security for itself."
Kallas said that "planning is progressing well" on the mission with some 10 countries expressing interest in participating.
She said the hope was to reach a formal decision to launch the mission in October.
UN chief Antonio Guterres has said that peacekeepers will be needed in Lebanon after the mandate of the current mission expires.
France and Italy have previously said they want to set up a multinational coalition to succeed the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon.
The country became embroiled in the Middle East war after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2, prompting a widespread Israeli bombing campaign and ground invasion.
More than 4,300 people have been killed, though violence has decreased since a US-Iran deal and a Washington-sponsored framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel went into force.
