BRUSSELS, May 21 (UPI) -- The United Kingdom formally requested the European Union designate the Lebanese Hezbollah's military sector a terrorist organization.
The request, which is scheduled to be informally discussed at an EU meeting in Brussels Wednesday, and officially taken up on June 4, could open the way for sanctions to curtail Hezbollah activity in Europe if successful, the British newspaper The Financial Times reported Tuesday.
Motivated by an investigation that blamed Hezbollah for an attack on a bus that killed five Israeli tourists last year in Burgas, Bulgaria, the British request coincides with worries in western nations about increased involvement by Hezbollah in the Syrian civil war, the newspaper said.
If the British request is successful, members of Hezbollah's military sector could face asset freezes and travel bans, European Union officials said.
