Aoun reportedly seeking military cooperation agreement with EU

President Joseph Aoun is leading an effort, in cooperation with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, to pursue a military cooperation agreement between Lebanon and the European Union with the aim of bringing in a European military force to replace UNIFIL, whose mandate expires at the end of this year, al-Akhbar newspaper reported.

“Aoun appears to be operating on the premise that such an agreement requires neither a Cabinet decision nor a law passed by Parliament ... and he is relying on strong support from the United States, which still prefers that European participation be limited to specific countries, with a particular focus on Italy,” the daily said.

According to the report, Aoun's latest visit to Rome aims to discuss this matter with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, within the context of the role the United States and Israel envision for Italy, which is led by a right-wing government supported by the Trump administration.

“Aoun is seeking to convince the Italians to provide the necessary European funding to lead the European force, which is supposed to be formed from countries such as Germany and Scandinavian nations, with an American-Israeli desire to exclude France and Spain in particular, and leave a special role for Germany,” al-Akhbar added.