This is a problem they could have avoided. Faced with the war between Hamas and Israel, worried about the risks of importing the conflict onto their soil, Europeans must also dispel the confusion caused by Ursula von der Leyen’s lonesome in Israel. For the sake of clarification, the heads of state and government of the European Union therefore adopted a joint declaration this Sunday evening which “defines the EU position”.
“Nothing justifies terror. We strongly affirm Israel’s right to defend itself in the face of such violent and indiscriminate attacks, while respecting humanitarian law and international law,” write the leaders of the 27, who will meet also Tuesday late afternoon by videoconference. “It is of the utmost importance that the European Council determines a clear and unified course of action that reflects the complexity of the current situation,” adds Charles Michel, President of the European Council, in the letter of invitation sent this weekend. end.
If the letter was addressed to capitals, the message seemed primarily intended for the President of the European Commission. She has been under fire since her trip to Israel last Friday. A personal initiative since she had not been mandated by the Member States and it also seems that she was invited on the plane of the President of the European Parliament… The former German Minister of Defense appeared alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government had just requested the evacuation of more than a million civilians in the Gaza Strip. At no time does it mention that Israel must respect international law, and in particular international humanitarian law. “I know that the way Israel responds will show that it is a democracy,” she simply declared. However, earlier in the week, EU foreign ministers had already agreed on a common line that mentioned respect for the law.
“Yes, we are friends of Israel and we support the Israeli people in the ordeal. Yes, Israel has the right to defend itself against bloodthirsty terrorists, but you are forgetting an important message,” scathed on the social network “ X” Macronist MEP Nathalie Loiseau, who also recalls that the President of the European Commission is not in charge of the Union’s foreign policy. “Madame von der Leyen went to Israel as President of the European Commission and spoke as such,” the Elysée tackled a little later.
The French are not the only ones to have raised eyebrows. From China, the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell thundered to recall his prerogatives. Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg and even Ireland have issued more or less public protests. Diplomats from Arab countries too. “Their representatives tell us that it will take us years to recover,” laments a European source. “This gives the rest of the world the feeling of double standards, where Israel would have a free hand.” A statement from the President of the Commission dating from last year has been unearthed. In October 2022 in front of the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen described Russian bombings targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine as “war crimes”. “I am waiting for the same statement about Israel cutting off water, electricity and food deliveries to Gaza,” protested Francesca Albanese, United Nations special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories.
European countries hope to calm things down as quickly as possible in order to avoid opening themselves to criticism from southern countries, while they are precisely trying to win them over to the Ukrainian cause. They also fear an outbreak of tensions between the communities present on their soil. And all the more so since already at the beginning of last week, they had to intervene to prevent the European Commission from cutting development aid to the Palestinians while it checked that European funding was not adding to Hamas’ coffers. . Officially, it was an isolated initiative of the commissioner responsible for the subject, the Hungarian Oliver Varhelyi. A spokesperson for the institution had nevertheless confirmed the information to the press, before a formal backpedaling a few hours later.
This weekend, the European Commission finally announced a tripling of humanitarian aid for the Palestinians, which will be increased to 75 million euros. In the press release, Ursula von der Leyen mentions for the first time the need to respect international humanitarian law. Not sure if this is enough to repair the damage.