EU foreign ministers will once again discuss Ireland and Spain’s request to review human rights provisions in the bloc’s trade deal with Israel.
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.
EU to discuss Israel ties after ‘attacks’ on UN mission
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: Attacks against UN troops ‘completely unacceptable’
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.
News Credit: DW News
