US: Bulgaria Showed EU Must 'Pro-Actively Act' against Hezbollah

The White House has interpreted as conclusive the Bulgarian government's Tuesday statement that Hezbollah might be involved in the 2012 Burgas bus bombing.

US President Barack Obama's chief counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan has issued a statement calling on the EU to take resolute action against the organization.

"Bulgaria’s investigation exposes Hezbollah for what it is – a terrorist group that is willing to recklessly attack innocent men, women, and children, and that poses a real and growing threat not only to Europe, but to the rest of the world," said Brennan.

The EU needs to "take proactive action to uncover Hezbollah’s infrastructure and disrupt the group’s financing schemes and operational networks in order to prevent future attacks," added the White House official.

Bulgaria's choice of whether to name Hezbollah as standing behind the Burgas bus bombing was seen as pivotal as to whether the EU will officially label Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

Up to this Tuesday's sitting of Bulgaria's Consultative Council for National Security, the Bulgarian government had not named any organization as implicated in the Burgas bus bombing, which claimed the lives of 5 Israeli tourists, their Bulgarian driver, and the presumed suicide bomber.

Israel, followed by the US, quickly threw for the July 18, 2012 attack on Hezbollah, and has greeted Bulgaria's Tuesday implication of the Lebanon-based organization.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has released a statement stressing on the need for further reflection on the outcome of the investigation, which is not yet completed.