European Union leaders are gathering in Brussels for a meeting, but the main issues are the conflict between Hamas and Israel and the EU’s inability to show a united front.
For a long time, the European Union has been unsure about what its position should be on the war. There have been confusing statements, embarrassing mistakes, and different opinions from different countries about the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
But after a few days of not being able to agree, leaders of the European Union want to find a position that everyone can agree on.
The question is whether to support a stop to the fighting or breaks in fighting to provide help to people.
Charles Michel, the head of the European Council, is very worried about the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza. He and other leaders want to make it easier for people in Gaza to get things like food, water, medical care, fuel, and shelter.
They want to improve the conditions so that more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas gunmen during their attack on 7 October can be released safely. Some of the people being kept as prisoners are citizens of two European countries, like Germany, France, Portugal, and the Netherlands.
EU countries have very different opinions, which makes things very confusing.
When he got to the meeting, Spain’s temporary prime minister Pedro Sánchez said he wants a pause in the fighting between Israel and Palestine. He said if a pause is not possible, he wants a break in the fighting to help bring urgent aid to the Palestinian people.
Some people are unsure about asking for a break in the fighting and say that it might be seen as stopping Israel from protecting itself.
Germany and other countries are against the idea of having only one humanitarian break because it is too similar to a ceasefire, and Israel has the right to protect itself from attacks.
One diplomat told the BBC that what they needed was shorter breaks in the fighting instead. A pause is when actors stop completely, but pauses are only temporary. “They said that they only need help for a few hours at a time. ”
Germany, Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic strongly support Israel. Spain and Ireland have a stronger connection or alignment with the Palestinian cause.
Some leaders from Europe have been visiting the Middle East for diplomatic reasons. Italy’s leader Giorgia Meloni, Germany’s leader Olaf Scholz, and France’s leader Emmanuel Macron have all spoken with Egypt’s leader Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
On Wednesday, the leader of Austria, Karl Nehammer, and the leader of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala, went to visit Israel.
People have different opinions about the EU’s leadership as well.
The EU gives the most money to the Palestinians. When Oliver Varhelyi, who is in charge of EU policy towards neighboring countries, said that all payments to the Palestinians were being stopped and new budget plans were being delayed after the Hamas attack, aid agencies became very concerned and worried.
The European Commission quickly released a statement saying that they will not stop €691m (£600m) of aid, but they will review it. They also mentioned that they will triple the amount of aid they provide to Palestinians.
When Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, traveled to Israel with the President of the European Parliament, she received criticism for supporting Israel’s right to protect itself without mentioning the importance of following international humanitarian law. There didn’t seem to be any attempt to communicate with the Palestinian Authority.
However, a European Union diplomat told reporters that not everything Ms. von der Leyen said in Israel was shared on social media. The diplomat said that if you want to be effective, you shouldn’t use aggressive or forceful tactics when communicating. “The Israeli government pays attention to us when we discuss things privately. ”
In a very surprising action, more than 800 EU staff and diplomats wrote a public letter expressing their disapproval of her “uncontrolled” support for Israel. They were unhappy with the Commission’s different treatment of situations. They explained that when Russia blocked Ukraine, it was seen as a terrifying action, but when Israel blocked Gaza, it was completely overlooked.
James Moran from the Centre for European Policy Studies said to the BBC that the EU’s response has been both unfortunate and confusing.
In the past, the EU has usually been fair when dealing with conflicts in the Middle East. For instance, in 2014 people quickly asked for fighting to stop.
The EU doesn’t have its own soldiers, ships, or planes, but it has been very helpful in the Middle East by using its diplomacy skills.
In 1980, when it had only nine members, the group created the important Venice Declaration which acknowledged that the Palestinian people have the right to choose their own future.
In 2023, according to an EU diplomat speaking to the BBC, there are 27 countries in the EU with very different opinions about the Middle East.
This was made clear during a meeting of EU foreign ministers this week. It is said that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock disagreed with having a humanitarian ceasefire because Hamas was still shooting rockets at Israel.
The EU has not been able to agree on the type of break they should have.