The 27 reject Borrell’s proposal to break off dialogue with Israel, supported by Spain

Eduardo González The EU Foreign Ministers on Monday rejected a proposal by the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, to break off political dialogue with Israel, which had the support of Spain. Likewise, the head of European diplomacy asked the Member States to act with unity and greater speed in Ukraine and to support the use of European weapons on Russian territory, as the US has done. “The majority of member states thought it was better to continue having diplomatic and political relations with Israel, so the proposal was not taken into consideration, as expected,” Borrell said at the press conference following what is likely to be his last EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) as head of European diplomacy. During the meeting, Borrell showed the ministers of the 27 member states the reports of various NGOs and UN agencies “to judge the way Israel wages war.” “It was the right thing to do,” he added, regarding his proposal to suspend political dialogue with the Israeli state, which was rejected by a large majority. The proposal required unanimity of the member states. Hungary and the Czech Republic, staunch defenders of Israel, strongly opposed it. In contrast, Spain, which like Ireland had requested a review of Israel’s compliance with the Human Rights clauses of the Association Agreement, had expressed its “full” support for Borrell’s proposal. “We believe it is important for the European Union to take itself seriously and to convey that it takes the values it advocates seriously,” declared the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Diego Martínez Belío. “The situation in Gaza remains disastrous and unacceptable,” added the number two in Foreign Ministry, who participated in the meeting in place of the minister, José Manuel Albares, who is accompanying the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, to the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. In any case, Borrell announced upon his arrival at the Foreign Affairs Council that Brussels will host a meeting of the international coalition in support of the idea of two states on November 28. The meeting will be a continuation of the one held on October 30 in Riyadh, he said. Ukraine On the other hand, Borrell assured at the press conference that the EU will continue to provide diplomatic, military and financial support to Ukraine and maintain pressure on Russia through sanctions. According to the High Representative, the conflict in Ukraine, which reaches its 1,000th day on Wednesday, has been aggravated by Russia's attacks "against civil infrastructure and, in particular, electricity", which show that Russian President Vladimir Putin "does not seem ready to negotiate, but rather wants an escalation to achieve his objectives, which have been clear from the beginning: to conquer, occupy and subjugate Ukraine". During his speech to the ministers, Borrell called for unity and greater speed in decision-making regarding aid to Ukraine. "To use the language of power, to show that you have power, you have to be united", because "if you are not united, you cannot show power, too many times we have not been united", he declared upon his arrival. "You cannot claim to be a geopolitical power if it takes you days, weeks and months to reach agreements to be able to act", he warned. In this regard, Borrell regretted that his mandate will end without having been able to present his “last proposal on the European Peace Facility” to allocate more resources to Ukraine, which has been blocked by Hungary. “Events do not wait for you. Russia does not stop the war because you think about it. Every time we made decisions to support Ukraine, it took us too long,” he lamented. “The Ukrainian people need more support and we have to provide the support,” he added. In this regard, Diego Martínez Belío declared upon his arrival that “the essential thing in this period is to maintain European unity and European support around Ukraine.” Josep Borrell even called on EU member states to lift restrictions on Ukraine using long-range weapons provided by member states on Russian territory, as the United States has already done. “They know my position. I have been saying it again and again, that Ukraine should be able to use the weapons provided not only to stop arrows but also to hit archers,” Borrell added. Georgia, Venezuela and Iran On the other hand, Borrell announced that the FAC has approved the sending of a mission to Georgia “to discuss the irregularities.” He also assured that the opposition candidate Edmundo González was the winner of the presidential elections in Venezuela and that the EU remains “united in its rejection” of the recognition of Nicolás Maduro “as a democratically elected president and, therefore, denying him legitimacy as if he had won the elections.” The FAC has also approved an extension of the scope of application of sanctions against Iran for its support for Russia's war against Ukraine and armed groups in the Middle East and the Red Sea.

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