It is the swan song of Joseph Borrell as head of community diplomacy. The EU’s high representative for foreign policy waited until his final meeting before leaving office to respond positively to Spain and Ireland’s demand to sanction Israel for its actions in Gaza. A request that Madrid and Dublin raised last February, but to which Borrell has not responded until now.
Concretely, the High Representative proposed to European governments to suspend the political dialogue provided for in the association agreement between the EU and Israel. The reason given is the violation of human rights and international law by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu in the wars in Gaza and Lebanon. Borrell puts this initiative on the table knowing that it is doomed to failure, since it requires unanimous agreement.
The plan will be discussed during the meeting of 27 foreign ministers which will be held this Monday, November 18 in Brussels. Unless there is any surprise, this is the last Council chaired by Borrell before handing over to the Estonian. Kaja Kallasmuch more cautious about the conflict in the Middle East. “What will happen on Monday is a lot of angry ministers and no results for Borrell”a European diplomat tells EL ESPAÑOL.
“Scarce reports from northern Gaza attest to a catastrophic level of killing, destruction and starvation, as well as forced displacement of civilians as an entire population is bombarded, besieged and at risk of starvation, and is forced to choose between displacement or death”, denounced Borrell in one of his last interventions on the conflict.
“We need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages. Gaza’s civilians also urgently need rapid, unhindered access and sustained distribution of “large-scale humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip,” said the former Spanish foreign minister.
The first to come forward to overturn Borrell’s proposal was the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock. “We are always in favor of keeping dialogue channels open. Of course, this also applies to Israel,” Foreign Ministry sources in Berlin explained on Thursday.
The department headed by Baerbock claims that the political dialogue provided for in the association agreement between the EU and Israel constitutes a regular opportunity to discuss respect for international law and the provision of humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza. On the other hand, stopping the dialogue would not help anyone, neither on the Palestinian nor the Israeli side.
The truth is that he Netanyahu’s government has systematically rejected Borrell’s latest invitations to come and explain himself to Brussels and did not accept the call to the EU-Israel Association Council that the Europeans have been demanding since last May. His ministers accused the Spanish diplomat of being anti-Semitic, hating Israel and siding with Hamas.
Borrell’s proposal to suspend political dialogue with Israel was first presented at the meeting of ambassadors of the 27 held on Wednesday to prepare for Monday’s Foreign Affairs Council. “Without warning, the External Action Service raised this issue. It came as a complete surprise and immediately encountered objections from a large number of member states,” indicate the sources consulted.
Besides Germany, other countries that expressed their rejection of Borrell’s plan were Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Greece and Denmark. An opposition which means that this sanction initiative cannot prosper. And according to what was heard during his hearing before the European Parliament, Kaja Kallas will put him aside as soon as he succeeds the Spaniard.
In their joint letter sent to the Commission in February, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Irish Prime Minister at the time, Leo Varadkardemanded an “urgent review” of the EU-Israel association agreement, alleging that Netanyahu’s government is violating the clause that requires respect for human rights.
President Ursula von der Leyen ignored this request and never responded to the letter. For his part, Borrell, who completely aligns with Sánchez in the hard line against Israel, has raised the issue in several Foreign Affairs Councils, but has also not made a concrete proposal confirming the deep division between the states members on the Palestinian conflict. Israeli. A caution that he decided to put aside during his farewell to the European government.
