(JNS.org) Israeli government officials are accusing Ireland of leading EU opposition to officially labeling Hezbollah a terrorist group. Major European nations such as Germany and France now support the move to blacklist Hezbollah’s military wing, but 27 EU states must first agree on the issue. Ireland, which currently presides over the EU, opposed the terrorist designation along with Finland and Sweden at a discussion of the issue Tuesday, June 4, Israeli officials reportedly said. A spokesman at Ireland’s embassy in Tel Aviv neither confirmed nor denied this, only saying that more discussion is needed to “arrive at an agreed position on the proposal,” the Jerusalem Post reported.

The allegations come in the wake of a reversal in the position of the new Socialist Bulgarian government regarding Hezbollah’s responsibility for the Burgas bus attack in July. The government now says there is only an “indication” of Hezbollah’s responsibility for the attack exists, while Bulgaria’s previous government claimed to have concrete evidence for Hezbollah’s role.