The EUSM mission will operate for at least three years, “contributing to peace and security in Lebanon, strengthening state institutions and promoting lasting stability,” according to a press release from the EU Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg.
The EUSM is being established partly in response to the UN winding down its long-standing operation in Lebanon, UNIFIL. However, the EU mission does not have the same peacebuilding mandate and will primarily focus on advice and training.
It is not yet clear whether Sweden will participate.
“We will of course look at how we can best contribute. It is important that there is no gap when UNIFIL is wound up and that resources are in place,” says Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M).
