United in the purpose of bringing relief to the people of Gaza, the Twenty-seven last night engaged in tough negotiations on how to facilitate humanitarian access to the strip without eroding Israel’s ability to respond , a red line for Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. The agreement came after six hours of discussions, in the form of a statement condemning Hamas terrorism, calling for the unconditional release of hostages, supporting Israel’s right to defend itself under international law and – the most difficult to agree on – calls for promoting “all kinds of measures, including humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian needs” to alleviate the “worrying” situation in Gaza.
The formula is more convoluted than the first ones that were used, but diplomatic sources emphasized that it allows the EU to “define itself” in the conflict. “Letters, commas, words matter. This is how agreements are reached”, affirm European diplomatic sources when they were asked about the semantic nature of European debates in the face of a reality as brutal as that currently experienced in the Palestinian territories.
“Our unity will be the best argument we can use to talk to the Global South”, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, implored the Twenty-Seven at the start of the summit, held in the midst of a wave of criticism of the supposed “double standard” with which the West judges the role of Hamas and Israel in the conflict, or the war in Ukraine.
Ruling out the possibility of asking for a dry “ceasefire”, or a “humanitarian ceasefire”, the European leaders negotiated formulas similar to those these days are being evoked in the United Nations to claim “continuous access, rapid and uninterrupted” of humanitarian aid to Gaza, through initiatives such as decreeing “a pause”, “pauses” (plural) or opening “windows” to get basic supplies to the strip, where, according to the UN, since the Israeli offensive began, more than 5,000 people have died, 62% of them women and children.
Spain, together with Ireland, among others, had defended stronger language, but the acting Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, arrived in Brussels yesterday open to compromise. “I would like to see a ceasefire for humanitarian purposes, but if the conditions are not met, we ask for at least a humanitarian pause to channel the arrival of all the aid that the Palestinian population urgently needs”, but “also it is important to have an international peace summit on the horizon” that could be held in six months, he added.
Sánchez launched the initiative already at the summit held in Cairo on Saturday with the argument that it is necessary to “offer a horizon towards a two-state solution”, sources from the Spanish Government explained. “This idea cannot be an empty shell”, “it is necessary to give a specific perspective from the international community to turn into something concrete the solution of the two states that can coexist in peace and security”. The Spanish proposal had disappeared from the text that the European leaders personally negotiated yesterday, but the Spanish delegation insisted on its objective that the EU endorse it and the final text includes the initiative.
“The EU is ready to contribute to reviving a political process based on the situation of the two states” and “supports the holding of an international peace conference”, reads the peace declaration, which does not commit to the aim to try to launch it within six months. The lack of attention given to the conflict during the last ten years, the problems to agree on a clear position, as well as the problems of the EU to get allies in the so-called Global South – a concept that brings together all developing countries – his vision of the war in Ukraine has exploded in the face of European leaders with the resurgence of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
“The peoples of the Middle East, Jordan included, are shocked and disappointed by the world’s reaction to the catastrophe that is happening [in Gaza],” Queen Rania of Jordan lamented this week. “In recent weeks, we have seen the flagrant double standard of the world,” said the sovereign of Palestinian origin, who gave voice to criticisms that have resonated beyond Western countries when they have compared, for example, the accusations of war crimes launched by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, against Russia and the refusal to qualify as such some of the acts committed by Israel in Gaza. “Some actors are using these circumstances to try to get part of the international community to attack the EU and its partners, and to sow doubts about our credibility,” President Michel warned in an apparent allusion to Moscow and Beijing. The summit, however, also highlighted that European unity regarding the war in Ukraine has some new cracks, with the arrival in power of the Slovak leader Robert Fico, similar to the pro-Russian theses of the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, who celebrated their meeting with a photo of both of them and the phrase “Back to the future”; they had already agreed on power.
Fico has already announced that it will suspend Slovakia’s military aid to Ukraine. Although the material impact is minimal, Brussels is worried that Orbán will add an ally when it comes to blocking European decisions in support of Kyiv. At the moment, Budapest maintains its refusal to authorize the latest disbursement of 500 million euros from the European Peace Support Fund, the instrument with which the EU finances the shipment of weapons to the Ukrainian Government. Your vote will also be needed to approve the 50 billion euros in macro-financial aid promised to Kyiv by 2024.
Orbán arrived in Brussels delighted with his enfant terrible role days after meeting and shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “It’s a strategy, we’re proud of it,” he said of his gesture, with which he aims to keep the lines of communication open with Moscow and “help bring peace to Ukraine.” Orbán’s presence at the summit of the new Chinese Silk Road and the effusive greeting to Putin went down badly in the European capitals and it was not ruled out that some European leader expressed their displeasure to him last night.
