The European Union and Lebanon adopted Tuesday the partnership priorities for the coming four years, as well as a compact, during a visit by caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil to Brussels, the EU delegation to Lebanon said in a statement.

“The partnership priorities set up a renewed framework for political engagement and enhanced cooperation. They were agreed in the context of the revised European Neighborhood Policy and the EU's global strategy for foreign and security policy,” it said.

The compact includes the mutual commitments through which the EU and Lebanon will fulfill the pledges they made at the London conference on supporting Syria and the region in February 2016.

The objective is to “improve the living conditions both of refugees temporarily staying in Lebanon and of vulnerable host communities,” the statement said.

The announcement was made jointly by Bassil and Federica Mogherini, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

“Partnership priorities in EU-Lebanon relations for the coming years include: security and countering terrorism, governance and the rule of law, fostering growth and job opportunities, and migration and mobility,” the statement.

The EU-Lebanon compact foresees “an EU allocation of a minimum of € 400 million in 2016-2017, in addition to the bilateral assistance of more than €80 million for those two years.”

It outlines “specific mutual commitments to address the impact of the Syrian crisis and aims to turn the situation into an opportunity to improve the socio-economic prospects, security, stability and resilience of the whole Lebanon.”

In turn Lebanon “commits to ease the temporary stay of Syrian refugees, in particular regarding their residency status.”

Lebanon currently hosts at least 1.1 million Syrians. It is the country hosting the highest number of displaced persons and refugees both per capita and per square kilometer.