On Tuesday 20 May, the foreign affairs ministers of the EU Member States called on the High Representative of the Union and Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, to examine whether Israel is complying with the terms of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, under Article 2 relating to respect for human rights.
“There is a strong majority in favour of reviewing Article Two of our Association Agreement with Israel. So we are going to launch this exercise”, she announced at the end of the Foreign Affairs Council, during which the Member States discussed the initiative launched by the Dutch on this revision. According to a European diplomat, 17 Member States voted in favour, Latvia was neutral and 9 were opposed (Germany, Croatia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Italy, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus).
If the Commission concludes that Israel has failed to comply with Article 2 of the Association Agreement, it could decide to suspend the Agreement, explained Belgian Minister Maxime Prévot, adding that he had “a personal feeling that there is no doubt that human rights have been violated”.
“We have to tell the Israelis that there are situations where there are no more words, no more justifications, no more excuses, and that’s why we have to analyse the Association Agreement, so that the European Commission can check whether human rights are still being respected. We can no longer close our eyes. Humanitarian aid is no longer coming in. If people don’t die from bombs, they die from hunger or lack of care”, summed up Luxembourg minister Xavier Bettel on his arrival at the EU Council.
If the EU launches this review, “in the meantime, it is up to Israel to release humanitarian aid. Saving lives must be our top priority”, said Ms Kallas. And she emphasised that: “The situation in Gaza is catastrophic; the aid provided is merely a drop in the ocean. Humanitarian aid must be delivered immediately. Urgent and sustained pressure is essential to bring about real change”.
“There are thousands of trucks behind the borders, waiting. It is European money that has funded this humanitarian aid, and it has to reach the people”, she added.
At the start of the meeting, the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, denounced a situation that he described as “unbearable, intolerable and inhumane”. “The EU must do everything in its power to put an end to it”, he told the press.
And his Dutch counterpart, Caspar Veldkamp, spoke of a concern that was “widely shared in the EU”. “Current developments give cause for concern”, said Troels Lund Poulsen, Denmark’s Defence Minister.
On Monday, 23 countries, including Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, and 16 EU Member States, stepped up the pressure on Israel, demanding in a joint statement that aid to Gaza be fully resumed immediately.
Towards a resumption of airdrops? “When there is a possibility to restart with humanitarian air drops into Gaza, we will absolutely do it”, Belgian Defence Minister Théo Francken assured the press on Tuesday morning. An air bridge was set up by the EU in November 2023 (see EUROPE 13290/14) and several European countries carried out airdrops, including Belgium.
“It is from Jordan that we operate, but to be very clear, Israel will have to give a go (...) The day that they say go, we will immediately help people from Gaza with humanitarian airdrops with our A400M, a European aeroplane coming from Jordan”, he added.
By June 2024, more than 50 flights carrying vital supplies provided by humanitarian partners and EU Member States had been organised by the European Commission (see EUROPE 13441/12).
West Bank. Ms Kallas also announced that one Member State - Hungary, according to one source - had blocked sanctions against violent settlers.
New Special Representative. On Tuesday, the Council of the EU appointed French diplomat Christophe Bigot as the new EU Special Representative (EUSR) for the Middle East peace process. His mandate will be to contribute to the EU’s objective of a “just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, based on the coexistence of two States (...) in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions”, the EU Council said in a press release. Mr Bigot, who specialises in the Middle East and North Africa, will take up his post on 2 June 2025 for a period of 12 months. He will replace the Italian Luigi Di Maio, in office since 1 March 2025. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Bernard Denuit)