Christian Democrat MEP calls on EU to rely on churches in solving Lebanon crisis

Holvenyi, who headed the EU mission observing the elections in Lebanon in 2022, noted that parliamentary seats had been divided equally among Christian and Muslim representatives. “This is a token of stability after the bloody civil war” that ravaged the country, he said.

“The state is mired in corruption, GDP has plunged by 50 percent in the past 4 years, one-third of Lebanese citizens do not have enough to eat and in a country of six million, one million school-age children do not go to school,” he said. Meanwhile, the country is also fending for 1.5 million Syrian refugees, he added.

As the representatives of peace and dialogue, religious communities can play an important role in solving those crises, he said. “And the EU stands by Lebanon as a friend and neighbour,” he said.

Former Lebanese Economy Minister Mansour Bteish also attended the event.