EU High Representative Borrell’s proposal to suspend political dialogue with Israel is a non-starter

Brussels – The all-in of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, in the last Foreign Affairs Council at the head of the 27 EU ministers, is a non-starter. His proposal to suspend political dialogue with Israel within the framework of the Association Agreement governing relations between Brussels and Tel Aviv has been rejected. “As expected, it was not taken into consideration,” is the bitter remark made by Borrell on the sidelines of the proceedings.

From the Italian foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, to his Belgian counterpart, Hadja Lahbib, who on Israeli crimes in Gaza has always been among the most critical voices, almost no one took the initiative of the head of European diplomacy seriously. “The proposal formulated by Borrell to boycott dialogue with Israel makes no sense. We disagree. If you want to work for peace in the Middle East, you cannot not talk to Israel,” Tajani said. For the Belgian liberal, the only way to assess whether Israel has violated its human rights obligations under the EU Agreement is to “convene an Association Council.”

However, Borrell’s move was a deliberate step forward, a political testament to his commitment to uphold international law as head of the European External Action Service (EEAS), and a way to push the EU’s action further to exert pressure on Israel. “History will judge us all. I did what I believed I had to do. All countries asked to study a way for the war to take place in a way that respected the principles of international humanitarian law,” said the Spanish socialist. On the other hand, proposing to suspend the articles of the Association Agreement related to political dialogue allowed him “at least to put on the table all the information produced by the UN organizations and all the international organizations working in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon,” in a report prepared by the EU special envoy for human rights, Olof Skoog.

After a roundtable discussion, it became clear that most member states considered it necessary to keep diplomatic channels open with Israel. They suggested assessing the respect for human rights in a hypothetical Association Council, in which, however, the Israeli government has so far refused to hold with EU partners. At the press conference, Borrell also took a dig at the European Commission and its president, Ursula von der Leyen, explaining that he had proposed to member states to suspend political dialogue with Israel because it was the part “that falls under the exclusive competence of the Council,” since the EU executive “has never proposed anything after the request of Spain and Ireland” to consider suspending the Agreement with Israel.