Germany has renewed its call for a European Union-led military mission to replace UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, with Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul proposing an EU stabilization force to prevent a security vacuum once the current UN mission withdraws.

Wadephul told RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) on Friday that Berlin wants the EU to explore whether it can fill the gap left by the departing UN mission. "We should examine in the EU whether we can ensure that no security vacuum arises with a European mandate following the UNIFIL mission," he said in the interview, first reported by RND and subsequently covered by Al Jazeera, Die Zeit, and n-tv.

Wadephul framed the proposed EU deployment around two goals: enabling the Israel Defense Forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon, and preventing Hezbollah from rebuilding its military presence in the area. He said the EU force is needed to stop Hezbollah from "returning with its terror."

The UN Security Council agreed in 2025 to end UNIFIL's 48-year mission, acting under pressure from the United States. The mandate is due to expire at the end of 2026 Al Jazeera.

Background: What UNIFIL Does

UNIFIL — the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon — was created in 1978 after Israel's first invasion of Lebanon and has been repeatedly renewed by Security Council resolutions. It operates in a zone south of the Litani River, where it monitors the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and supports the Lebanese Armed Forces in maintaining security.

The 2025 Council decision to wind down the mission shifts the international security framework along the Israel-Lebanon border. UNIFIL's presence has been contested for years. Israel has long argued the force fails to stop Hezbollah from building military infrastructure in southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah and its political allies in Beirut have periodically accused the mission of overstepping its mandate. The United States pushed for termination, aligning with Israel's position that the UN framework had become ineffective.

From UN to EU: Why the Format Matters

Wadephul's proposal would shift the stabilization role from a UN-mandated force with broad international troop contributions to a narrower EU-led mission under a European mandate. The distinction matters: a UN force draws its legitimacy from the Security Council and operates under UN command, while an EU mission would be authorized through the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) framework — the bloc's mechanism for joint military and civilian operations abroad — with its own rules of engagement, troop-generation process, and command structure.

Germany has contributed troops to UNIFIL under the UN flag. Moving to an EU format would give Berlin and other contributing member states more influence over the mission's design and operations than they currently hold within the UN system. It would also place the mission squarely within EU foreign policy, subject to the consensus dynamics that govern CSDP operations — meaning all participating EU governments would need to agree on key decisions.

Two Major Obstacles

The proposal's viability is uncertain on at least two fronts. First, EU member states have historically differed on military engagements in the Levant, and assembling troops for a stabilization mission in southern Lebanon would require commitments from capitals that may be reluctant to deploy soldiers into an active post-conflict environment with Hezbollah. Second, any successor force would need the Lebanese government's agreement, which has not publicly responded to the proposal. Hezbollah's political wing remains a participant in Lebanese governance, complicating the prospect of Beirut consenting to a mission explicitly designed to block the group's rearmament.

Wadephul's use of the phrase "examine in the EU" signals that Germany is at the stage of raising the question among member states rather than presenting a fully formulated plan. No timeline for EU deliberation has been specified. The UNIFIL mandate's expiration at the end of 2026 gives a practical deadline: without a successor arrangement, southern Lebanon would face the withdrawal of international peacekeepers with no replacement force in place.

The broader context here is a realignment of how Western powers approach security guarantees along the Israel-Lebanon border. The shift from a UN framework to a potential EU mission reflects frustration with UNIFIL's inability to prevent Hezbollah's military buildup, but it also transfers political risk. An EU force operating without a UN Security Council mandate would lack the multilateral cover that UNIFIL provided — the broad international legitimacy that comes from a UN stamp of approval — potentially drawing European powers into direct friction with Hezbollah and, by extension, Iran. Whether EU member states are prepared to accept that level of exposure is the question Wadephul has now placed on the table.