The European Union calls for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and says Lebanon is on the verge of collapse

Borrell, the European Union's foreign policy chief, called for an "immediate ceasefire" between Israel and Hezbollah and for consultations with Lebanese officials on the matter.

"We see that the only viable way forward is an immediate ceasefire and full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701," Borrell said Sunday after meeting Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabi Berri in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, AFP reported.

Since Sept. 23, Israel has dramatically stepped up air strikes in Lebanon and sent ground troops after nearly a year of sporadic exchanges of fire with Hezbollah. Resolution 1701, which ended Israel's 2006 war with Hezbollah, calls for the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers to be the sole armed force in the south and for Israel to withdraw its troops from Lebanon.

Borrell recalled: "I visited in September with the hope of avoiding a full-scale Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Two months later, Lebanon is on the verge of collapse."

He added that the EU was ready to provide 200 million euros to support the Lebanese army, whose full deployment along the border was an important condition for a ceasefire.

At present, France and the United States are actively promoting the ceasefire negotiations. U.S. envoy Peter Hochstein visited Lebanon and Israel this week to try to broker a cease-fire based on Resolution 1701.

"We have to put pressure on the Israeli government, while maintaining pressure on Hezbollah, to get both sides to accept the U.S. cease-fire proposal," Borrell said.