EU ‘appalled’ (again) by Israel, this time over Ben-Gvir’s Gaza flotilla humiliation, but continues doing nothingBy now, the question many are asking themselves is when this endless condemnation of Israel’s actions will translate into any concrete action.
There is no shortage of tools at the EU’s disposal to put concrete pressure on Israel, but there has been a staggering deficit in political will. At a bare minimum, the EU must suspend the EU-Israel trade agreement. Two member states hold the key: Italy and Germany.
After flotilla raid, EU sticks to ambiguous warnings on Gaza aid missionsBy allowing for various possible interpretations, the EU Commission manages to sidestep any outward criticism to Israel, while defending a principled stand on humanitarian commitments.
Recent reports say that the so-called ‘yellow line’ has been pushed further into the Gaza side by the IDF, expanding Israel’s zone of control to some 60 percent of the enclave.
Germany, Greece, Romania, the Czechs, and Finland also licensed millions of euros of Israel arms exports in 2024, according to the latest EU data.
“I do not believe that breaking a trade agreement is a useful tool,” said Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani on Tuesday — despite Spanish and Belgian appeals.
Suspending the Association Agreement with Israel is the only tool left for the European Union. The EU remains Israel’s main trading partner – yet this leverage has rarely been used to apply pressure.
EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas has seemed more concerned with undoing what her predecessor Josep Borrell sought to achieve in the region, than with addressing the catastrophic consequences of allowing Israel to act with impunity.
“The ever and fast deteriorating situation calls for such action [on Israel”, a joint Franco-Swedish proposal said.
Israel has been engaged in the deadliest and most deliberate effort to kill and silence journalists ever-documented since 1992, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a US-based non-profit.
We analysed in detail more than 50 speeches by Ursula von der Leyen that touched upon the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts. We were interested in uncovering how the political subjectivity of Ukrainians is constructed in comparison to that of Palestinians, paying particular attention to the role of gender.
A leading Palestinian human rights advocate has been refused a visa to address the European Parliament, despite both Belgium and the Netherlands being prepared to grant entry.
The EU Parliament should — at the least — hold a plenary debate on Gaza to hold Israel to account despite the Iran crisis, leftwing, Green, and liberal groups told press in Brussels on Wednesday.
European leaders have been carefully drafting cautious statements urging ‘de-escalation’ and ‘respect for international law’. But one voice has sounded different. And it speaks Spanish.
EU law, which went into force last December, states that visas may be suspended when a country violates fundamental freedoms and rights. But the European Commission has no intention of stripping Israel of visa-free access to Europe despite abuses in the occupied Gaza and West Bank.
The European Commission says their presence at Donald Trump’s Board of Peace is needed because they have invested heavily in Gaza – despite reported objections from France and Spain.
The ex-ministers, ambassadors, and diplomats accuse French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot of spreading disinformation and called for a correction of his comments about UN rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese.
Israel’s intelligence services already maintain extensive knowledge of who works for these NGOs. The new registration requirements appear designed primarily to demonstrate control, writes the former EU representative to Gaza and the West Bank.
Croatia’s Dubravka Suica will be representing Brussels at the launch of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace on Thursday.
The EU welcomed the reopening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt earlier this week. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities are blocking many NGOs from delivering humanitarian aid in Gaza, raising concerns over violations of the agreed peace plan. Will the EU take a stand on these human rights breaches?
Gaza is treated as a temporary humanitarian problem rather than a long-term political failure requiring accountability, protection, and reconstruction. Once the violence becomes less visible, so does the obligation to act, writes Mahmoud Shehada in Gaza.