Good afternoon, very happy to be back in Beirut.

I think I had a series of very productive meetings today. And this is to follow the decisions made last week by the leaders of the European Union, at the European Council, where it was very clearly stated that Europe considers the stability and security of Lebanon to be a priority, a European priority. And we want a deeper cooperation between the European Union and Lebanon, to that regard.

We of course, are mindful of the major difficulties Lebanon and its people are faced with: be it the domestic problems they are undergoing, the political impasses and deadlocks, the financial problems, the economic problems, the social problems, or the regional tensions surrounding Lebanon.

Therefore, we are here also to make a clear message that we need to lower the tensions in the region. And we of course, would like to contribute to this.

When it comes to the long-term stability and prosperity of Lebanon, we want to reaffirm our continued support for Lebanon and for its people, especially for the most vulnerable groups. And I reassured all my partners that there is a predictable and long-term commitment from Europe to continue to support Lebanon. So, Lebanon can continue to count on our financial and political support during the forthcoming years, at least until the end of this multi-annual financial period running until 2027. It is also clear that the European Council not only has made it clear that the European Union is ready to continue to support the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, and Türkiye but also the European Council made it very clear that now we need to double our efforts to combat human trafficking and smuggling and the need to enforce border protection and also to stem irregular migration. […]