The Diplomat
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, will advocate for the European Union to speak out in writing against the ground offensive announced by Israel against the city of Rafah, at the summit of European leaders that begins this Thursday in Brussels, according to government sources, cited by Europa Press.
The head of the Executive will also ask that the Union’s support for the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) be maintained, despite the complaints against some of its members, and that this commitment be reflected in the conclusions of the summit.
In this sense, the sources consulted underline the importance of the discussion on the Middle East that the European leaders will have, the first that will take place in depth in the European Council since the month of October, when the terrorist attacks took place. Hamas against Israel, which triggered the worst escalation of the conflict in decades.
On this occasion, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, has decided to include this matter as a “full item” on the agenda, which means that the intention is to reach written conclusions from the EU members on the situation in Middle East.
According to the aforementioned sources, these conclusions are being negotiated, but they consider that the positions defended by Spain are being increasingly well received by the Member States.
Likewise, they point out that there is a no small group of countries that are in line with the positions defended by Spain, another group of intermediate countries, which have been getting closer, and also another small group that is distant and has other interests.
However, they emphasize that Michel’s task will be to have the ability to find the right balance between different sensitivities in order to reach an agreement. They are aware, however, that obtaining a text of conclusions on this topic is extraordinarily difficult, even more so when the discussions that are being carried out are of depth and not mere superficial mentions.
