In an exclusive interview with LBCI, European Union Ambassador to Lebanon Sandra De Waele stressed that the EU is more than just a donor, but a "genuine partner" to Lebanon.
She highlighted that certain financial aid remains inaccessible due to the country’s stalled reforms, adding that the future of assistance after 2027 will be shaped by both internal developments in Lebanon and global trends.
Here is the complete transcript of the interview.
Toni Mrad: Since 2020, how much financial support has the European Union provided to Lebanon in total, and how has the assistance been allocated across different sectors?
Sandra De Waele: Since 2020, the European Union has provided €1.7 billion in financial support to Lebanon. And that is the European Union alone. If we add to this the number of the bilateral support of the EU member states, the number is even higher. Together with its member states, the European Union is the largest financial donor to Lebanon since many years already.
There's actually a very few sectors in which the European Union is not present. But as I mentioned, because of the crisis, our focus has gone very much to supporting basic services.
With basic services, we mean education, healthcare, social safety nets, for instance. So, to give you a few numbers, in education, the European Union is paying the enrolment fees for no less than 210,000 Lebanese children in schools.
We have also renovated and rebuilt 71 public schools. And that goes from rehabilitating the toilets for the kids to providing laboratories or access for children with disabilities. In the health sector, we have worked very closely with the Ministry of Health in developing the primary healthcare sector, including the financing by the European Union of 55 primary healthcare centers.
In social protection, again, we work with Lebanon as a partner in helping develop the national strategy for social security, but we underpin that again with specific support. For instance, last year, 75,000 Lebanese families in extreme poverty have received cash assistance from the European Union, and 27,000 people with disabilities have received their disability allowance via the national program funded by the European Union. And maybe the last one in a different sector is water, very important as well. And that's an example of how our support has changed.
Normally, we would be wanting to work with Lebanon in developing new infrastructure, looking to the future. But because of the crisis and the fact that the government was not able to provide basic services, we have been making sure with other donors as well that the existing networks are continuing to run, and therefore, for instance, 3 million Lebanese people are now having better access to clean water, thanks to that support.
Toni Mrad: In 2024, the EU provided a €1 billion aid package to Lebanon. How much of that commitment has been disbursed so far, and which sectors have received funding?
Sandra De Waele: So right now, the one billion that has been announced is a package for four years, so 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027. We have now already allocated and identified the first 500 million, and that goes to a large extent for the same basic services that I mentioned before, education, health, social safety, but we are also doing significant amounts of work.
About 130 million will go to support the security services, support to LAF, economic management, sorry, border management, economic reforms, support to the private sector, and the development of the green economy. As I mentioned before, we are present in many, many sectors, but our focus remains for now on basic services and support to the army, but that comes from additional money in addition to the one billion.
Toni Mrad: Looking ahead, is the European Union at present offering any new aid to Lebanon? If so, what's the amount, and which areas will it target?
Sandra De Waele: Well, as I mentioned, the one billion that was announced covers the four years. But additional aid has been provided when it comes to support to the Lebanese Armed Forces. In the context, of course, of the war 2024, we have allocated 82 million euros to the Lebanese Armed Forces. More money will be coming also to aid, for instance, in rubble removal or in the mining. But again, the one billion is for the next four years.
And some of that money will also be able to increase or augment it, depending on the reforms that are happening. So there is a whole side of European Union financial assistance, which is concessional loans, micro-financial assistance that right now are not as accessible to Lebanon because the public finance management reforms, etc., have not been done.
So one of the reasons why we, as Europeans, are so vocal about the need for reforms is because we think they're very important for the functioning of the country, for the benefit of the citizens. But it will also make sure that we are able to step in significantly different levels.
Toni Mrad: Considering the challenges that Europe, from inflation to other economic challenges, could this impact the scale of aid provided to Lebanon moving forward?
Sandra De Waele: Well, again, we would be looking at a horizon after 2027, right, because the horizon until 2027 is guaranteed, let's say. But, yes, right now in Europe, the negotiations begin for the European budget after 2027.
And, of course, everything that happens both in Lebanon but also globally will have an impact on how the European ministers decide as to where that money will go.
Toni Mrad: The European Union continues to support Syrian refugees in Lebanon, but how much aid is currently being allocated, and given the recent changes in the Syrian regime, why isn't this aid being redirected to those in need inside Syria?
Sandra De Waele: Well, I think I want to dispel one misconception maybe, and that is that the European [Union] would have been absent in Syria, and that is not the case. So throughout all of this year, the European [Union] has continued to provide support to the Syrian population in Syria. And for instance, our humanitarian assistance to the Syrians in Syria has been about double what the European humanitarian assistance in Lebanon was. So I think it's important to know that we have not let the Syrians in Syria down throughout all these years.
We also believe, and I think that, and that's why I think the European Union and Lebanon are very much aligned. We believe that the future of the Syrians lies in Syria. So we are very much, I think, with Lebanon looking in the same direction on that. Now, with the fall of the regime, it creates new opportunities, let's say.
It creates more opportunities for the European Union to work in Syria with the Syrian government. For instance, we are cutting our sanctions back. We are increasing our cooperation with early recovery in Syria to help create the conditions that make it easier for people to go back. And in addition to that, we are also working with the security services here in Lebanon to provide support to prepare people for returns to Syria.