The European Union on Friday pledged to play a key role in humanitarian assistance and reconstruction in Lebanon. It also vowed to help find a political solution in the Middle East conflict.

Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paula Lehtomaki, whose country holds the current EU presidency, made the pledge at a press conference in Helsinki.

Lehtomaki returned Thursday from her Middle East tour. She visited Lebanon on August 14-16 and Israel on August 17 as the EU envoy. Accompanying Lehtomaki was Louis Michel, the European commissioner for development and humanitarian aid.

Lehtomaki said that people in Lebanon had started returning to their homes from the temporary camps immediately after the ceasefire came into force. The need for humanitarian assistance in southern Lebanon was enormous, she stressed.

The EU would be a leading force in the reconstruction process, Lehtomaki said, adding that the EU member states and the EU Commission had jointly pledged 115 million euros (147 million U.S. dollars) in humanitarian aid to Lebanon.

Lehtomaki also told reporters that following the ceasefire, a comprehensive solution for the entire region must be found and that it was the only way to achieve lasting peace and sustainable development for the whole region. In devising a political solution, the situation of the Palestinians must not be forgotten, she added.