At a meeting in Brussels on Monday 16 December, the European foreign ministers discussed the situation in the Middle East. The discussions focused in particular on Syria (see EUROPE 13546/1), but the ministers also discussed the latest developments in the region, particularly in Gaza.
The Foreign Affairs Council reaffirmed the need for a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave, the release of the Israeli hostages and sufficient and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid.
In addition, at the end of the first ministerial meeting that she chaired, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, indicated that she had proposed the holding of an EU-Israel Association Council, thus taking up her predecessor’s proposal.
“This point was also supported by the ministers”, Ms Kallas told the press, indicating that she wanted to seize this opportunity to press for a two-state solution.
The EU Member States agreed in May to propose to Israel that an Association Council be held (see EUROPE 13417/1). However, no agenda has materialised since then.
The High Representative also announced the forthcoming high-level dialogue with the Palestinian Authority, without giving further details.
European Council. Discussions will continue at the level of the EU’s 27 Heads of State or Government, who will meet in Brussels on Thursday 19 December.
According to a draft set of conclusions dated Friday 13 December and obtained by Agence Europe, the European Council is expected to welcome the 27 November ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon and urge the parties to implement the agreed ceasefire (see EUROPE 13535/14).
The EU27 should call for the “full and symmetrical” implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and note “the fundamental stabilising role of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the south of the country”. This last sentence did not appear in an earlier draft of the conclusions, dated 9 December.
The European Council is also expected to express “deep concern” about Israeli legislation, passed in October, which undermines the work of UNRWA (see EUROPE 13516/17). “UNRWA provides essential support to the civilian population both in Gaza and in the region as a whole”, read the most recent draft conclusions, while an earlier version confined itself to stressing the UN agency’s “crucial support” for civilians.
Finally, the European Council should reaffirm “the European Union’s commitment to international law and to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution in accordance with relevant UN Security Council Resolutions where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side-by-side in peace within secure and recognised borders”.
See the draft conclusions of the European Council of Friday 13 December: https://aeur.eu/f/et9 (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)