On Friday 15 December, at the end of a summit at which EU leaders discussed the situation in the Middle East, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, said that “the EU (should) be involved, as much as possible, in trying to bring a voice that has an impact on this conflict”.
It is a difficult voice to make heard at a time when the EU27 are divided on issues such as a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and sanctions against Israeli settlers on the West Bank.
Without hiding the differences, Mr Michel preferred to highlight the points of agreement. He emphasised “the common and shared determination of the leaders to be highly mobilised to provide greater humanitarian support” to the Palestinians in Gaza. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, pointed out that since the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October, 28 airlifts had been organised by Team Europe, representing 1,200 tonnes of aid. Five more flights are planned between now and the end of the year.
Mr Michel highlighted the “very strong unity” of the leaders around: - a guarantee of security for Israel; - its right to defend itself in accordance with international law, but also; - the condemnation of Hamas attacks and the terrorist organisation’s use of civilians as human shields.
The President of the European Council also said that it was necessary to work “hard” on the political process with a view to a two-state solution, adding that operational proposals had been shared by the leaders. These proposals “will inspire us in the days and weeks ahead in our commitment with our partners to make progress on this issue”, said Mr Michel.
He explained that many leaders wanted to condemn the upsurge in violence and attacks by settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank. So far, however, there is no unanimity at EU level for the adoption of sanctions. “Encouraging stability in this part of the region is extremely important”, said the President of the European Council.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who is in favour of such measures, made it clear that his country would not act alone, but “either as the EU or as a group of countries acting together”.
Several Member States also underlined their determination to support shipping in the Strait of Hormuz at a time of increasing attacks by the Yemeni Houthis. For French President Emmanuel Macron, Europeans need to coordinate their actions more effectively, particularly to improve operations at sea and combat “terrorist actions” in the Straits.
The future of Gaza
The leaders also discussed the post-war situation in Gaza. For Mrs von der Leyen, there is a “growing consensus” on the principles defended by the EU: - no forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza; - the enclave cannot be a safe haven for Hamas, which must no longer be part of the administration of the territory; - a reformed Palestinian Authority must govern both the West Bank and Gaza; and finally, there can be no mid or long-term security presence of Israel in Gaza.
“Building on the fact that we are the largest donor, and therefore have an influence in the region and are well connected in the region, and building on the fact of our experience, these principles, we are working on with partners in the region, because this is a good foundation to create the solution everyone is asking for”, explained Mrs von der Leyen.
No text of conclusions was adopted, although the Benelux countries worked on a joint draft, according to one source, and Sherpa diplomats also discussed a draft text on Friday morning.
At the end of the meeting, Mr Varadkar said that the leaders had decided not to draw up any conclusions. “If we had tried to have written conclusions, we would have been here for many, many hours, and probably have only come up with compromise wording that nobody would have been happy with”, he justified.
Ahead of the summit, however, he had called for “stronger wording” than the October conclusions (see EUROPE 13291/1).
“We preferred to reiterate the conclusions of the previous European Council because, if we had repeated them, there would probably have been certain differences that would have made the work difficult”, confirmed the President of the Italian Council, Giorgia Meloni.
To see the conclusions of the European Council: https://aeur.eu/f/a60
Request for measures against settlers
On Friday, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the EU, Finland, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom “strongly” condemned the acts of violence committed by extremist settlers “which are terrorising Palestinian communities” in the West Bank.
In a joint statement, they called on Israel to take “immediate and concrete” measures to ensure the immediate and effective protection of Palestinian communities, arguing that Israel’s “failure” to protect Palestinians and prosecute extremist settlers was leading to an “environment of near complete impunity in which settler violence has reached unprecedented levels”.
Since the beginning of October, settlers have committed more than 343 violent attacks, killing 8 Palestinian civilians, injuring more than 83 Palestinians and forcing 1,026 Palestinians from their homes, according to the joint statement.
To see the declaration by the fourteen countries plus the EU: https://aeur.eu/f/a63 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant with the editorial staff)