Josep Borrell is already on his way out. In his last Foreign Affairs Councilthe High Representative of the EU has defended that the bloc has to “suspend political dialogue” with Israel, as a “pressure” measure. so that it does not continue with its actions both in Gaza and Lebanon. “There are no words to describe what is happening in the Middle East”, he assured, aware that there is a block of countries that do not want to take this step, as is the case with Germany, Austria and Hungaryamong others.
This demand to freeze the EU-Israel Association Agreement came months ago from Spain and Ireland, but the European Commission has not yet analyzed the proposal – nor will it do so in the short term, at least until the new Community Executive starts working. “We have to put pressure on Israel, that is why there are concrete proposals on the table to see if what is happening in Gaza is in accordance with international law”.“said Borrell, who will now give way to the Estonian Kaja Kallas, who is also awaiting a yes to the Von der Leyen 2.0 Commission.
In this scenario, the still head of European diplomacy has warned the Member States. “You cannot claim to be a geopolitical power if it takes days, weeks, months to reach agreements to act. That is why my last appeal to my colleagues is: be more united, make decisions faster, events are not waiting for you,” he said. Why? Because the landscape has changed. “We are facing a completely different panorama and Europeans have to be prepared to act without waiting to react to U.S. decisions“, he concluded.
On that pressure on Israel, Spain does not change its position and is leading that message. “We think it is important that the European Union takes itself seriously and conveys. that it takes seriously the values it advocates.. The situation in Gaza continues to be disastrous and unacceptable”, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Diego Martínez Belío, said from Brussels.
Borrell also had time to talk about the situation in Ukraine, an issue that will be left for Tuesday’s Council meeting. “Nothing has changed from our point of view, there is a war,” said the Spanish leader. “Russia continues to attack and we have to continue to support Ukraine to defend itself. That’s all. That’s the answer we have to give to the Ukrainians,” he told reporters.
Nor is the High Representative convinced about allowing Kiev to use Western long-range weapons over Russian territory, a veto that has already been lifted by the United States, President Joe Biden announced. “You know my position. Ukraine should be able to use the weapons that we provide it with not only to stop the arrows, but also to reach the bows. I still believe it is something that needs to be done. I hope the member states will agree on that,” Borrell concluded.