Sánchez: “European countries that previously defended Israel are finding it increasingly difficult”

Eduardo González The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, defended this Thursday, before the rest of the European leaders, the review of the Association Agreement between the EU and Israel in response to the violations of human rights against the Palestinian population and assured, in this regard, that the European countries that have defended Israel the most until now “are beginning to have serious difficulties in defending the actions of the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu”. During the press conference after the meeting of the European Council, held in Brussels, Pedro Sánchez called for “the defence of coherence and International Law in Ukraine, the Middle East, Venezuela, Georgia, Sudan and of course on our borders, with the migration issue”, because “if we are not coherent in the face of attacks against territorial integrity and human rights violations, wherever they occur, we as Europeans would lose our authority in the face of a war that has already lasted three years in Ukraine”. Regarding the Middle East, Pedro Sánchez reported that Spain has presented “three key proposals” to the rest of the Member States. The first is that “there will be no withdrawal of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon”, a position agreed upon by “the various governments and also Spain”, which have highlighted “the essential role and autonomy of UNIFIL” and have “condemned Netanyahu’s serious statements” against the mission. Likewise, the head of the Executive conveyed “a special pride and a message of support to the Spanish blue helmets in Lebanon”. As for the second proposal, he continued, “I have requested a review of the Association Agreement between the EU and Israel, if violations of human rights and international humanitarian law are finally found in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.” In this regard, he recalled the letter sent months ago by the Governments of Spain and Ireland in which the European Commission was asked to report “whether Israel's actions comply with one of the articles of the agreement, that of respect for human rights.” “We are waiting for the report, for it to be debated in the Foreign Affairs Council and, in the coming weeks, to learn about that report and, from there, to learn the opinion of the community institutions,” he explained. Regarding the possible support of other Member States for the proposal, Pedro explained that, “initially, it was an initiative of Ireland and Spain,” but “I sense that those countries that are most vocal in defending Israel are beginning to have serious difficulties in defending the actions of Israel and Prime Minister Negtanyahu.” Sánchez's third proposal is that "countries exporting arms to Israel should stop doing so, as Spain did from the beginning of the war, on October 7, 2023." "All EU countries must do so and I have requested this," he explained. On the other hand, he continued, "to dissuade Prime Minister Netanyahu, it would be good if countries that have not recognized the Palestinian State did so, showing Prime Minister Netanyahu that Europe as a whole is committed to the two-state solution before we sit down at the International Peace Conference" proposed by Spain and for which there is still no date. Ukraine On the other hand, Pedro Sánchez reported that, during the Council meeting, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, explained to the European leaders his proposal for “a fair and lasting peace” and assured, in this regard, that “the Governments of Spain and the EU will continue to support the people of Ukraine on all fronts and for as long as necessary.” He also welcomed the approval of a loan of 35 billion to Ukraine, but warned that “aid must arrive now, urgently.” Other challenges for the EU in this matter, he said, are “to find formulas to advance in military and financial support for Ukraine” by avoiding Hungary (which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU), whose Government, “clearly marked by the European far right,” has “blocked transcendental policies for the EU and is not responding to the demands of the moment.” Migrations As had been repeatedly announced, Pedro Sánchez expressed his “rejection” of the proposal by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, for the creation of migrant reception centres outside the EU “because it does not address the problems and creates new ones”. In this sense, the head of the Executive defended “the positive vision of the migratory contribution in all socio-economic aspects”, because “if we want to face the European demographic challenge, maintain the pension system and guarantee economic growth, we need the contribution of migration”, reinforcing for this purpose “regular migration” and “orderly, responsible and legal migration”.What is at stake, he warned, is knowing “what Europe we want to be: an open and prosperous Europe; or a closed, less competitive and poorer one.” For this reason, the President of the Government advocated facing the migration phenomenon thinking of future generations, “and not of the next elections,” and referred to the Migration and Asylum Pact as one of the valuable tools to face migratory flows with this perspective. In this sense, Pedro Sánchez explained that Spain has asked the rest of its European partners to advance the comprehensive application, in a “balanced and supportive” manner, of the Migration and Asylum Pact.

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