During a recent visit to Brussels, Israeli President Shimon Peres urged the European Union (EU) as a whole to place Hezbollah on its list of blacklisted terrorist organizations. The EUobserver reported that President Peres warned that, “if you do not take measures against Hezbollah, then they may think that they are permitted. I know this is not the EU’s intention.”

Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, said that “the listing proposal, which would have to be agreed by EU governments rather than the EU executive, requires very detailed thought.” This highlights the difficulties in adding Hezbollah to the list of terrorist organizations. At present, only the Netherlands and the United Kingdom have “blacklisted the organization or parts of it.”

On July 18, 2012, a terrorist attack on a bus carrying Israeli tourists in Burgas, Bulgaria, which killed seven, has subsequently been blamed on members of Hezbollah following an investigation by the Bulgarian authorities. The result is additional pressure for the European Union to include Hezbollah on their terrorist list.