The head of European Union (EU) diplomacy stated today that foreign ministers did not reach an agreement to suspend the association agreement with Israel, but stressed that discussions on this issue will continue.
At a press conference following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, Kaja Kallas said that, during the meeting, some Member States presented proposals “to suspend, in whole or in part, the association agreement” and “impose restrictions on trade” coming from settlements in the West Bank.
“Other Member States expressed their opposition to these proposals. Taking into account that the (total) suspension of the agreement requires unanimity, the necessary support was not reached and, regarding the measures that were already on the table and that require a qualified majority, it will also be necessary for the Member States to change their position. This did not happen today”, he said.
Kaja Kallas stated, however, that “discussions on this matter” will continue and, when asked whether, with regard to the suspension of the association agreement, she saw any change in the position of the Member States, she replied that she had not.
“There were new proposals related to trade and I promised to take them to the Commissioner for Trade (Maroš Šefčovič) because, in order to discuss these proposals, taking into account the legal provisions, it is necessary for the European Commission to put a proposal on the table”, he said.
Regarding the situation in the Palestinian territories, namely the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said that the EU will continue to “call for better humanitarian access” and “condemn Israel’s illegal appropriations of land in the West Bank”, in addition to maintaining the call for the disarmament of the Palestinian extremist group Hamas.
Asked whether, in her contacts at international level, she has heard complaints from partners regarding a possible double standards by the EU with regard to Israel, Kallas said that, on the contrary, she has felt that “the credibility of the EU is growing”.
“If you look at what is happening in different scenarios, for example in the Palestinian issue, we have been the biggest supporters of Palestine in terms of support provided to the Palestinian people, the Palestinian Authority, Palestinian refugees and the reconstruction of Palestine”, he said.
Kallas said that, whenever a country raises the issue of possible EU double standards, they always ask whether that country is doing more for Palestine than the bloc and it turns out that the “EU always does more”.
“Of course, now there are more requests, because, wherever I go, everyone asks us for help. We are the biggest supporters in Sudan, in Somalia… I can give examples all over the world. Therefore, I truly contest this issue”, he stressed.
The High Representative acknowledged that the EU does not have a “complete agreement” on many issues in its relationship with Palestine, but left a question.
“Will the suspension of the association agreement stop the expansion of settlements in the West Bank? Probably not, but the proposals are on the table. We still don’t have an agreement, let’s focus on the things where there is actually an agreement”, he asked.
The association agreement between the EU and Israel has been frequently challenged in the bloc since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, but it returned to the agenda with the Israeli offensive in Lebanon, the extension of settlements in the West Bank and the approval, in the Israeli parliament, of the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of terrorist attacks.
Last week, more than a million EU citizens signed a petition calling for the suspension of this agreement and, in the meantime, the leader of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced that Madrid would present a proposal to this effect to ministers today.
However, the suspension of the agreement has met with opposition from countries such as Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic or Hungary.
Lusa
