On 7 and 8 May, the European Union’s foreign ministers met in Warsaw for an informal Council meeting. On the agenda: the situation in the Gaza Strip, devastated by war and drained by two months of humanitarian blockade.
While the heads of diplomacy expressed their indignation at Israel‘s behaviour, they were unable to agree on a joint declaration. However, some initiatives were proposed: Caspar Veldkamp (NSC, centre-right), the Dutch Foreign Minister, called for a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The European Union‘s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas has already announced an increase in EU aid allocated to the NGOs targeted by a bill currently being debated in the Knesset.
For her predecessor Josep Borrell, who left office on 1 December, the EU is not doing enough to prevent what he describes as “the largest ethnic-cleansing operation since the end of the second world war”. Borrell’s sharp words beg the question: has the indignation of European diplomats come too late?
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