Greece, Italy, and France grant Netanyahu overflight permission; EU voices criticism

Brussels – The summit between the leaders of the United States and Israel leaves the EU in a difficult position and its Member States facing their own inability to act. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington DC to meet the US President, Donald Trump, and discuss the Middle East. Apparently, there is nothing unusual, were it not for the fact that to land on the other side of the Atlantic, Netanyahu’s plane flew through the airspace of Greece, Italy, and France, without anyone escorting the aircraft to the ground to follow up on the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court specifically concerning the Prime Minister of the Jewish state. 

The failure of each of the three EU Member States to act is a source of embarrassment for the European Commission, which is well aware of the gap between its much-heralded rhetoric and its inaction. “As the EU, we support the International Criminal Court; as the EU, we defend its independence and impartiality; and as the EU, we are committed to ensuring the fight against impunity,” said Anouar El Anouni, spokesperson for the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas. Following this introduction, he stressed the political point: “In 2023, the European Council adopted conclusions urging all Member States to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court, including the swift execution of outstanding arrest warrants.”

The response provided by Kallas’s spokesperson ends here. Brussels does not feel the need to add anything; moreover, the reference to the political commitments agreed at the level of Heads of State and Government effectively suggests that Greece, Italy, and France have failed to honour the promises they made officially. This is an implicit criticism of the discrepancy between what is set out in black and white and what is left unheeded, a situation of general embarrassment that highlights the EU’s double standards and its limitations.