The new EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process, Sven Koopmans, called on Monday 28 February for greater EU involvement in the two-state solution.
Warning that the US should not be expected to take too much initiative, Mr Koopmans told a hearing of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs that “this implies greater responsibilities” for the EU while knowing “the difficulties of the situation, that the chances of success in the short and medium term are limited”. “We have to try to find openings where possible”, he explained without giving details.
The Special Representative revealed that the situation on the ground was “disappointing, dangerous”. According to him, there are “risks, perhaps more than in the past, of violence”. He recalled that the violence in May 2021 had not yet led to a sustainable ceasefire. “To say that the situation on the ground is worrying is an understatement”, he added.
The Special Representative said that there was not enough improvement on the ground, either on day-to-day measures for the Palestinians or on the peace process.
According to Koopmans, while the new Israeli government has created a rather positive atmosphere, not enough is being done to convert this atmosphere into reality, to improve the situation of the Palestinians and to launch an opening for the peace process. He added that the Abraham Accords have not resulted in much progress for the Palestinian side.
And even if Europeans often appear to be divided on the situation in the Middle East, the Special Representative felt that there was “ much more unity on a two-state solution than is often claimed”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)