EU to discuss Israel ties after 'attacks' on UN mission
October 15, 2024
After the European Union accused Israel of violating international law and blasted its "attacks" on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon as "totally unacceptable," the bloc's foreign ministers gathered in Luxembourg have once again been grappling with a familiar question: whether and when and how to turn words of condemnation into action.
Despite Israel's insistence that it has not deliberately targeted sites used by UN peacekeepers, the incidents, which have resulted in several injuries, have drawn international condemnation.
On Monday, Spain's prime minister Pedro Sanchez reiterated a request submitted jointly with Ireland earlier this year for the bloc to review Israel's compliance with human rights provisions in its partnership agreement that governs trade with the EU. If violations are found, the two EU members want to see the trade deal with Israel suspended.
Borrell seeks to force EU decision
After chairing Monday's talks, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he would ask ministers to hold a "full discussion" on the topic when they meet next month. It's seen as a last push to by Borrell, an outspoken critic of Israel who is due to leave office later this year, to force an EU decision.
Israeli authorities have regularly criticized Borrell in the past, going so far as to accuse the EU official of antisemitism — something he strongly rejects.
On Monday, Borrell said there was "enough evidence" to merit a discussion on Israeli compliance with its obligations under its EU deal. "Not only to ask for — but to assess if" humanitarian law is being respected, he said.
The planned EU talks come with no guarantee of further agreement in any direction. In June, the bloc asked Israel to attend a formal meeting, known as an "association council", to kickstart the process of reviewing the relationship. But in practice. nothing has come of that request as it remains caught amid bureaucracy and political disagreement — both between Israel and the EU, as among EU members themselves.
Israel denies breaching international law and says recent incidents involving UN peacekeepers in Lebanon were accidental, as it continues what it says are targeted attacks against Hezbollah in response to the group's ongoing strikes on Israel.
Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for UN peacekeeping troops in the south of Lebanon to be moved "out of harm's way."
UN troops 'will not withdraw'
And that has prompted a strong — if not swift — response from the EU. Anna Lührmann, a Minister of State for Europe at Germany's Foreign Office, said the bloc had demanded explanations.
Even Austria — traditionally seen as a strong ally of Israel — was direct.
"We have more than 120 soldiers, male and female, in the camps, so we are very much concerned," Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told reporters in Luxembourg on Monday.
"We have reached out to our Israeli friends to make our position very clear: No, they [the peacekeepers] will not withdraw. Yes, they will continue to fulfill the mandate," he added.
EU foreign policy chief Borrell also stressed that only the United Nations Security Council can change the peacekeepers' mandate.
‘Almost no one listens to us anymore'
EU ministers themselves acknowledged their calls on both Israel and Hezbollah to de-escalate are unlikely to change the reality on the ground.
"In the EU, there are 500 million of us but on the international stage, we're no more than confetti," Luxembourg's Xavier Bettel told reporters in Luxembourg, adding that discussions within the EU remain "tough" due to ongoing divisions.
Since Hamas' October 7 terror attacks and the ensuing Israeli bombardment of Gaza and parts of Lebanon, the EU's members have often been at loggerheads. Some countries such as Hungary and the Czech Republic tend to stress Israel's right to self defence; others, including Spain and Ireland, often push for more critical language regarding Israel's actions.
The bloc's most recent statement condemning "attacks by the Israeli Defence Forces against the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which left several peacekeepers wounded", took days to negotiate line by line.
It's a regular habit for EU diplomats, with one source in the room during Monday's talks telling DW that several ministers expressed frustration over the bloc's inability to agree an official declaration more quickly.
But the EU's rules require unanimity for decisions on foreign policy. Changing that would involve a rewrite of the EU's treaties.
"A lot of our people have questions, and we don't have answers," said Bettel, Luxembourg's ex-prime minister.
"Between the US and China and Asia, almost no one listens to us anymore."
Edited by: Andreas Illmer