2007-06-20 13:17:47 -

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. lawmakers are stepping up pressure on the European Union to declare the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah a terrorist organization.
A House of Representatives' panel is to highlight Wednesday the importance of Europe as a fundraising base for the group, long held responsible by the United States for anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli attacks.
Some

European countries have resisted an EU designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, arguing that it is better to engage the group given its large role in Lebanese politics.
European officials have argued that changing policy on Hezbollah could affect the political balance in Lebanon and further destabilize the country.
The latest push by members of Congress to pressure the EU comes as Hezbollah continues to confront the Western-backed Lebanese government in a standoff over who controls the country.
The U.S. government has considered Hezbollah a foe since the 1980s and used its own decade-old designation to seize assets and freeze the group out of its financial system.
While the Bush administration once signaled that it might soften the U.S. stance as the group participated in Lebanese elections, that was before Hezbollah triggered a war last year by kidnapping three Israeli soldiers and stepped up a campaign to bring down the Lebanese government. The Bush administration has also accused the group of helping train Shiite militias in Iraq in the use of improvised explosive devices, mortars, sniper attacks and other operations.
Some members of Congress say that European countries standing in the way of a necessary unanimous vote by the 27-member EU should reconsider, given fading hopes that Hezbollah will play a constructive role in Lebanon's nascent democracy.
«What many of us here are arguing is that Europe must recognize the tremendously dangerous role Hezbollah plays and should include them on their list,» said Democratic Rep. Robert Wexler, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs' subcommittee on Europe that is holding Wednesday's hearing.

Hezbollah has a significant presence in some European countries, and experts say that its operations on the continent are essential for its financing. A designation by the EU would require member-nations to freeze the group's assets held in their jurisdiction.
«An EU ban on Hezbollah could have a significant impact, particularly in terms of its ability to use Europe as a fundraising and recruiting base,» said Michael Jacobson, a former Bush administration treasury official. Jacobson, now a senior fellow at the Stein Program on Terrorism, Intelligence, and Policy at the Washington Institute, will be testifying at Wednesday's hearing.
The EU Parliament passed a resolution to «take all necessary steps to curtail» Hezbollah. But the measure was nonbinding on the EU Council, which is would have to approve a designation.
Jacobson says that while many European country's openly support labeling Hezbollah a terrorist group, efforts to pressure the EU are complicated because it is not clear how many countries are blocking the move.
Under EU rules a unanimous vote is needed to designate a terrorist organization. The deliberations happen anonymously behind closed doors. However, the French government has in the past argued openly against the designation.