It’s the swan song of Josep Borrell as head of community diplomacy. The High Representative for Foreign Policy of the EU has waited for his last meeting before leaving office to respond positively to the request of Spain and Ireland to sanction Israel for its actions in Gaza. A request that Madrid and Dublin raised last February, but that Borrell has not attended to until now.
Specifically, the High Representative has proposed to the European Governments to suspend the political dialogue provided for in the Association Agreement between the EU and Israel. The reason given is the violations of human rights and international law by the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu in the Gaza and Lebanon wars. Borrell puts this initiative on the table knowing that it is doomed to failure, since it requires unanimous agreement.
The plan will be discussed at the meeting of the 27 foreign ministers taking place this Monday, November 18 in Brussels. Barring any surprises, it is the last Council chaired by Borrell before handing over to the Estonian. Kaja Kallas, much more cautious about the conflict in the Middle East. “What is going to happen on Monday is a lot of angry ministers and no results for Borrell”a European diplomat tells EL ESPAÑOL.
“The scant information coming out of northern Gaza attests to a catastrophic level of killing, destruction and famine, as well as forced displacement of civilians while an entire population is under bombardment, siege and risk of famine, as well as being forced to choose between displacement or death,” Borrell denounced in one of his last interventions on the conflict.
“We need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages. Gaza civilians also urgently need rapid and unimpeded access and sustained distribution of large-scale humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza,” says the former minister. of Spanish Foreign Affairs.
The first to come to the fore to overthrow Borrell’s proposal was the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock. “We are always in favor of keeping the channels of dialogue open. Of course, this also applies to Israel,” Foreign Ministry sources in Berlin explained this Thursday.
The department led by Baerbock maintains that the political dialogue provided for in the Association Agreement between the EU and Israel provides a regular opportunity to discuss compliance with international law and the provision of humanitarian aid to the population in Gaza. On the other hand, stopping the dialogue would not help anyone, neither on the Palestinian nor on 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 has not accepted the call for the EU-Israel Association Council, which the Europeans have been demanding since last May. His ministers have accused the Spanish diplomat of being anti-Semitic, hating Israel and siding with Hamas.
Borrell’s proposal to suspend political dialogue with Israel was presented for the first time at the meeting of ambassadors of the 27 held this Wednesday to prepare for Monday’s Foreign Council. “Without prior notice, the External Action Service raised this matter. It was a complete surprise and was immediately met with objections from a large number of Member States,” say the sources consulted.
In addition to Germany, the rest of the countries that expressed their rejection of Borrell’s plan were Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Greece and Denmark. An opposition that makes it impossible for this sanctioning initiative to prosper. And based on what was heard in his examination before the European Parliament, Kaja Kallas will shelve him as soon as he takes over from the Spaniard.
In their joint letter sent to the Commission in February, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the then Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkardemanded an “urgent review” of the Association Agreement between the EU and Israel, alleging that Netanyahu’s Government violates the clause that requires respect for human rights.
President Ursula von der Leyen has ignored this request and has never given any response to the letter. For his part, Borrell, who is completely aligned with Sánchez in the hard line against Israel, has raised the issue in several Foreign Councils, but had not made any concrete proposal either when confirming the deep division between the Member States on the Palestinian conflict. Israeli. A caution that he has decided to put aside in his farewell to the EU Government.
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