WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- If the European Union is to add Hezbollah to its terror list, the key may be providing more information about the threat the militant group poses to Europeans.

During the last European Council meeting in April, the periodic gathering of the heads of state of the EU member countries, apparently the issue was not discussed -- although it has been several times in the past without reaching a consensus, according to Jesus Carmona, speaking on behalf of Javier Solana, the EU's high representative for common foreign and security policy. Nor could he say whether the council would address the matter at its next meeting. The expert witnesses mentioned a statement from Solana that a decision could not be reached on Hezbollah because of a lack of information.

The U.S. Congress has repeatedly urged the EU to act on the Hezbollah issue, but Alexander Ritzmann, senior fellow at the European Foundation for Democracy and a former member of the Berlin state Parliament, told the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe Wednesday that a more subtle approach would work better, suggesting establishing joint work study groups to share information and help Europeans to see the need, adding that public pressure was likely to be ineffective.

As with many EU decisions that require unanimous consent among the 27 member states, consensus can be difficult to reach, but in this case, the key seems to be France because of its special relationship with Lebanon and the fact that it may be able to sway other EU states that have been reluctant on the Hezbollah question.

Other European nations reluctant to add Hezbollah to the terror list, according to Michael Jacobson of the Washington Institute for Near East Studies, include Italy, Belgium, Greece and Spain. Jacobson, who testified before the subcommittee on Wednesday, noted that many of these countries have troops in southern Lebanon as part of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, which was first created with a peacekeeping mission in 1978 for six months, after an Israeli incursion into southern Lebanon. Nations with troops in UNIFIL may fear reprisals for voting to name Hezbollah an official terror organization by the EU.

In his testimony, Ritzmann noted the EU has no common foreign policy and that there are many differences among the EU states, including a few countries that have experienced bombings or kidnappings -- France and Italy -- and a couple that have nothing to fear from Hezbollah.

Germany, on the other hand, has been very tough on terror under its 2005-elected coalition government headed by Angela Merkel, Ritzmann said. When asked by UPI why Germany -- which holds the rotating EU presidency until June 30 -- hadn't brought the issue forward, Ritzmann said he had queried the German government about that exact question and would relay the response when he receives it.

Asked by Rep. Albio Sires, D-N.J., whether Europeans view Hezbollah as a threat, Ritzmann said that images from Lebanon after the destruction from its war with Israel in July and August 2006 generated sympathy for Hezbollah.

Europeans have taken some measures to contain the spread of radicalism, however. The EU -- following a bold French ruling in December 2005 -- banned the Arabic satellite news channel Al-Manar in the spring of 2006, because of the Lebanon-based channel's highly anti-U.S. and anti-Israel sentiments, the witnesses said.

James Phillips, research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, argued that Europeans' continuous dismissal of the Hezbollah danger was "short-sighted" and will "make it a much more serious terror threat." By allowing a large presence of active supporters of Hezbollah within its borders (with an estimated 900 in Germany alone), the EU will bolster financial support for Hezbollah in Lebanon, which will later be a greater threat to European UNIFIL troops.

One trend that might signal change, however, is the recent election of Nicolas Sarkozy as French president. Sarkozy has referred to Hezbollah as a "terrorist organization," something his predecessor, Jacques Chirac, never would have done, Jacobsen told UPI.

Adding the Lebanon-based political and military Shiite Islamic organization to the EU's terror list would greatly harm its fundraising activities in Europe as well as its ability to use Europe as a logistical launching pad, but the overall efficacy of restricting its financial and other activities remains in doubt.

Jacobson said that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who stated that a European ban would "destroy" the organization, has probably overstated the likely results of being added to the EU terror list as Iran could continue to provide Hezbollah with material and financial support. Hopefully, however, a ban could "weaken Hezbollah and diminish its ability to serve as a proxy for Iran," Jacobson said.

The United States also appears to be pursuing a strategy of countering Hezbollah's influence. A Treasury Department news release Feb. 20 announced U.S. actions to target Hezbollah's construction company, Jihad al-Bina, and to "ensure that legitimate reconstruction efforts, led by the Lebanese government, succeed," as quoted by Stuart Levey, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. President Bush pledged $230 million in humanitarian reconstruction and security assistance in August 2006, and $770 million more was pledged at a Paris donor conference in January 2007, the release also states.

While there are certainly some who are drawn to Hezbollah's resistance movement against Israel, "the ideology alone isn't drawing its support," Jacobson said. He added that Hezbollah has also gained popularity in Lebanon by providing needed social services in certain parts of the country. As a result, Hezbollah has gained political legitimacy, with its political wing winning more seats in Parliament and even gaining positions in the president's Cabinet (until a recent withdrawal).

Tony Kutayli, communications coordinator for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, told UPI: "Hezbollah is a political entity that has to be dealt with at some level. These people were legitimately elected and have supporters," he said, arguing that cutting off funds targets innocent civilians.