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The EU's departing foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell said on Monday that he had “no more words” to describe the crisis in the Middle East after most of the bloc's 27 states – as expected – rejected his call to suspend political dialogue with Israel over the Gaza war.
Mr Borrell barely concealed his frustration at the EU's failure to weigh in on the conflict during his five-year mandate, saying earlier he had “exhausted the words to explain what's happening”.
“This is a war against the children,” the foreign policy chief, 77, said after the talks. “The most frequent age of the casualties in Gaza is five years old.”
Mr Borrell described an “apocalyptical situation in Gaza, where 70 per cent of the death toll is being paid by children and women”, with two million people displaced. He also acknowledged the suffering of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and other militant groups since the October 7 attacks on Israel.
“Most of the member states considered that it was much better to continue having diplomatic and political relationship with Israel,” Mr Borrell said.
But he said his services had “at least put on the table” all the information produced by UN bodies and international organisations “in order to judge the way the war is being waged”.
“If we want to be a geopolitical player, if we want to use the language of power, we have to be more united,” Mr Borrell warned. “It's time for Europe to take their strategic responsibilities. It's time for Europe to step up.”
During his five-year mandate, he has advocated the protection of human lives in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Mr Borrell has described a peace plan for Gaza recently put forward by former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and former Palestinian foreign minister Nasser Al Qudwa as a “ray of hope in dark times”.
At a meeting on Sunday night, the three men discussed the plan, which features a proposed 4.4 per cent land swap between Israeli territory and the occupied West Bank. Mr Borrell noted that, while the EU has a separate peace initiative, it is important symbolically that Palestinian and Israeli leaders work together in times of conflict.
“Every time that someone from one side meets someone from the other, overcoming the lack of empathy and trying to make peace a reality, that's very good news,” he said.
In July, the International Court of Justice said that states must “take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory”.
Even before the ministers voted, it was unlikely that Mr Borrell would achieve the necessary unanimous support for his proposals, which would involve all ministers agreeing on the fact that Israel is breaching human rights laws in Gaza.
Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp opposed Mr Borrell's proposals and said he looked forward to picking up discussions with his successor, the former Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas. She is scheduled to take over in December but there have been delays in approving the new EU Commission.
“Apparently, the high rep [Mr Borrell] takes a 180-degree turn. I don't fully grasp that,” Mr Veldkamp said. “In the view of the Netherlands, this door should keep open and we should start a discussion with the Israeli ministers. There will soon be a new high rep. Let's use these opportunities to get a dialogue running.”
His French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot dodged a question about Mr Borrell's proposal to suspend political dialogue with Israel, instead pointing at French efforts to issue a third round of sanctions against extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank. They so far have had no impact in curbing attacks against Palestinians.
“We’ll have this discussion today,” Mr Barrot said. “There is ongoing work at European level about sanctions that could target destabilising actors in the Middle East, maybe Hamas by the way, or violent settlers that are threatening the security of Israel.”
Pressure has been mounting since early this year for the EU to review its trade association agreement with Israel over human rights sanctions. Calls for a review have been supported by some countries such as Ireland, Spain and Belgium. But the EU remains divided, with some states such as the Czech Republic reluctant to appear critical of Israel.
Israel has also been pushing back an EU-Israel association council meeting to discuss these issues in the hope of delaying it until the end of Mr Borrell's mandate, EU sources have told The National. Ms Kallas is known for her strong pro-Ukraine stance but has been less vocal on the Middle East.
