Extra peacekeepers for Lebanon: France offers 2,000 troops[fr][de] 

French President Jacques Chirac announced on 24 August that France is prepared to contribute 2,000 troops to the expanded UN force in Lebanon. France played a key role in efforts to agree a ceasefire between Israel and Hizbullah on August 14, but has been widely criticised for so far sending only an extra 200 soldiers to bolster the existing 2,000-strong UNIFIL force. 

And Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja of Finland, which currently holds the European Union presidency, announced on Thursday 24 August that he believes the first additional UN peacekeepers will arrive in Lebanon next week. He added that he expects concrete figures concerning the actual number of EU troops to be involved in the planned 15,000-strong force to be presented at the end of the ministerial meeting on 25 August in Brussels, which UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will attend. 

The final decision on the role of Italy, which has offered between 2,000 and 3,000 troops and is likely to lead the UN force, is also expected at the meeting.
Commission President José Manuel Barroso announced that the Commission is “confident that Europe will provide the necessary support to expand the UNIFIL force to help the government of Lebanon extend its control over all Lebanese territory.”  
Both the US and the UK have declined to send any ground troops.