by Gareth Browne -- thenationalnews.ae -- The EU is pushing ahead to finalise a package of sanctions on Lebanon despite Monday’s nomination of Najib Mikati as prime minister-designate, European diplomats have told The National. Several officials told The National that, although they noted this week’s movement on forming a new Lebanese government, they were sceptical that Mr Mikati – a two-time former prime minister – can finalise an administration. Lebanon needs a new government that could introduce the reforms required to stave off a wave of sanctions on the country's political class and unlock international financial support. “Nothing has changed until we see concrete reforms. Mikati’s nomination is a still long way from that,” one European diplomat in Beirut said. “It’s not a case of buying them time because the sanctions were never just about government formation – they were about blocking the reforms Lebanon desperately needs. “Until the reform happens, sanctions stay on the table.”

Brussels has been working on a package of sanctions to punish those blocking government formation and vital structural reforms in Lebanon for months. Germany and France have been leading the efforts. “I can say that the objective is to complete this by the end of the month," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said earlier this month. "I am not talking about the implementation of the regime, just the building of the regime according to sound legal basis.” The EU sanctions would include asset freezes and travel bans. One European diplomat said that Mr Mikati would need to make sure his government formation efforts do not drag on. “Mikati said himself he wants to be fast. He said he is not going to do the same as Saad Hariri. If in a few weeks nothing is done, then we will take that into account,” they said.

الحل ليس بالانتخابات المبكرة وليس بالصلاحيات الاستثنائية وان يكن لا ضرر من حصولهما. الحلّ قبل كل شيء هو في تصويب السياسة العامة …

DUBAI, (Reuters) by Lisa Barrington Raya Jalabi - Until a few months ago, 32-year-old Michelle Chaaya was a human resources professional at a multinational firm in Lebanon. Now she works as a bartender in Dubai, sending cash to her family back home where a financial crisis has left many destitute. The United Arab Emirates has long been a destination for Lebanese businesses and professionals, propelled by instability in their tiny country. Those who like Chaaya came to the UAE in the past year are leaving behind a Lebanon that was already in dire straits before a huge chemical blast tore through Beirut in August, exacerbating a financial meltdown that has seen the currency collapse and jobs vanish. "After the explosion we felt like we were hopeless. So the first opportunity to travel outside Lebanon, I took it,” Chaaya said.

Fadi Iskanderani, one of Lebanon's few paediatric surgeons who this month moved to Dubai, said the plummeting currency meant his wages had fallen by around 95% for the same workload. Having trained overseas, he moved back to help rebuild his country after years of civil war. The decision to leave was heart-wrenching. Lebanon's crisis has propelled more than half the population into poverty, locked depositors out of bank accounts and worsened shortages of basic goods. The country's prized education and medical sectors have seen talent leave in droves: around 1,200 doctors are estimated to have left Lebanon. read more

by reuters -- Lebanese businessman Najib Mikati secured enough votes in parliamentary consultations on Monday to be designated the next prime minister, and now faces the difficult challenge of forming a viable government to tackle a financial crisis. Mikati has been prime minister twice before and, unlike many Lebanese leaders, does not represent a political bloc or hail from a dynasty. He received 72 votes out of a total of 118 members of parliament. Mikati won the votes of the most prominent blocs, including the Future bloc, Hezbollah's bloc, the Progressive Socialist Party bloc, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's bloc. But the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) bloc, which is the political group affiliated with Aoun, refrained from nominating anyone as the FPM and Mikati failed to see eye-to-eye on the 2011 government’s political performance. Like previous nominee Saad al-Hariri, he must navigate the sectarian, power-sharing structure and secure agreement on a cabinet equipped to address the financial meltdown in Lebanon, one of the world's most heavily indebted states. "I don't have a magic wand and I can't work miracles," Mikati said after his nomination, but added that he had been studying the situation and had "the necessary international guarantees".

Mikati is the third person to be nominated since Hassan Diab's government resigned after an explosion at Beirut's port area on Aug. 4 last year that killed more than 200 people and flattened large areas of the city. Diab's government has stayed on in a caretaker capacity since then, but Lebanon's currency has collapsed, jobs have vanished and banks have frozen accounts in the country's worst crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. Mikati said he was confident he could form a government, and its first priority would be to implement a reform plan by former colonial power France. The French roadmap envisioned a government of specialists capable of implementing reforms and engaging the International Monetary Fund.