Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
European Union foreign ministers met, and European Foreign Policy Coordinator Josep Borrell said on Saturday evening after the meeting: We have begun to deal with our relations with Africa and have just finished talking about Turkey. We discussed our approach to the Russian aggression against Ukraine, and we had a discussion about the situation in Gaza and about funding for UNRWA, in particular.
This was not a formal Foreign Affairs Council, so there are no formal conclusions, I will only say what I think the discussion was about. . For the first topic, Africa is too big and too diverse to say “Africa”. But we have been discussing the continent as a geopolitical priority, [and] our absolute determination to increase our dialogue and cooperation. We have a pending ministerial-level meeting, and we will support Africa's quest for greater representation in multilateral forums. But I cannot summarize a long discussion on Africa, from many perspectives, that we must increase our interaction and partnership with Africa, through stronger coordination among ourselves.
Regarding Gaza, you know that the European Council discussed the situation in the Middle East without reaching results.
We discussed - very lively, given the different positions among Member States - the situation in Gaza and the region: the catastrophic humanitarian situation. But this catastrophic humanitarian situation is not due to an earthquake or a natural disaster, but rather due to the presence of war.
This war has pushed hundreds of thousands of people into the south [Gaza], and now that they are in the south, the south is still being bombed, and it continues to create a very dire humanitarian situation. But it is a man-made disaster.
We discussed the issue of UNRWA's funding, in light of the accusations against some of its employees. Member States welcomed the measures taken by UNRWA quickly to launch an investigation, demonstrating how seriously the United Nations takes this issue. We certainly expect the review and audit to be carried out quickly and effectively.
We want to know more about how UNRWA works and that is why I have invited the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini - with whom I am in constant contact - to attend the upcoming Foreign Affairs Council in the format of development ministers on 12 February and to exchange with him all aspects related to this topic.
Let me make one thing clear: the European Commission – when we say “European Union” we mean “EU Commission” – has not suspended its funding. A few days ago, there was kind of a [snowball effect] saying everyone suspended [their funding] and since everyone suspended [their funding], we have to suspend [our funding] as well.
There was a lot of fake news, a lot of misinformation. Germany did not suspend funding, France did not suspend funding, and Spain did not suspend funding. Some Member States have suspended their funding, but very few have explicitly suspended [their funding]. Others took precautionary measures only "waiting", but did not stop payments.
This is the case of the [European] Commission: it has not stopped payments, among other things, because the next payment is due at the end of the month. So, you can't hang something that doesn't move. Let's see, from now until the end of the month where we are.
Certainly, we will ask for reviews, we will ask for controls, [around] lack of accountability, but I can say that for the majority of Member States, the general feeling is that there is no alternative to UNRWA. I repeat: there is no alternative to UNRWA.
UNRWA has played a crucial role in supporting Palestinian refugees, and not just in Gaza. People talk about UNRWA as if it was just an agency for Gaza. There are hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and in the West Bank - and UNRWA is also responsible for these people. UNRWA feeds two million people and provides 30,000 medical assistance daily. Providing schools for more than 400,000 students.
Who can replace that overnight? UNRWA plays a crucial role. It is true that the Israeli government has been very critical of UNRWA – not [just] now, but many times before – but we cannot punish two million people by depriving them of the support that UNRWA provides. Who will take care of that?
This is what we discussed in the European Council and here, I think most of the Member States that participated in the discussion were very clear about that. We have to look for accountability. We must seek verification of these serious allegations, but they affect a small number of the 13,000 UNRWA staff in Gaza. Meanwhile, some Member States said: “I am not only stopping, but increasing support for UNRWA.” Many of them said: “No, no, I will not stop, I will increase support for UNRWA.”
So, again, there are a variety of positions among member states, but the general feeling is that support for the Palestinian people must continue. We are talking about the lives of millions of people.
I said [that] I called Philippe Lazzarini.
We discussed the urgent need to avoid regional escalation and the importance of freeing the hostages once and for all and unconditionally, as we always do.
We will continue the discussion through the foreign ministers. I hope that the [Red Sea] naval mission will be launched at the next Foreign Affairs Council [on February 19].
Regarding Ukraine: We had substantive discussions about military assistance, our unity, and looking forward to a peaceful future for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
We discussed the situation on the battlefield, the situation of military supplies, and the assistance fund for Ukraine which I hope will be agreed in the coming days, within the European Peace Facility.
Our position remains consistent: Ukraine needs more support and needs faster support. Support must come now. The Ukrainian victory is extremely important not only for Ukraine, but also for peace and stability in Europe.
Finally, for Turkey After a long pause; We have put the topic of our relations back on the agenda.
I believe we should call for closer cooperation between the EU and Turkey, avoid confrontation and increase cooperation. To achieve this, we must communicate with Türkiye, taking into account the Cyprus issue.
We discussed the situation and opportunities in the field of foreign policy, and the bottom line is that we need to engage more with Turkey and work in areas where our interests converge and avoid irritants between us.
This was a summary of a very intense debate - an intense political debate because the time demands these kinds of meetings.
Question and Answer
Question: High Representative, you mentioned the “utmost necessity” to avoid regional escalation. Considering that the United States carried out air strikes overnight in Iraq and Syria on more than 85 targets and killed nearly 40 people, do you consider this an escalation? How serious do you think this is? Did the ministers around the table have an opinion on this?
Burrell: It was expected. It was expected that the United States would retaliate in response to the recent attacks it was subjected to. I think three soldiers were killed and many more wounded. It was expected, even announced, that these attacks would continue. It is certain that every attack contributes to escalation, and ministers have expressed serious concerns about this process. But we can only call on everyone to understand that at any moment, in this series of attacks and counterattacks, a spark can lead to a larger incident. We are doing our part to try to avoid that, by launching this naval mission in the Red Sea, which I hope will be approved in the next Foreign Affairs Council in the next two weeks, and will be deployed immediately because we have enough naval assets. , in order to launch it immediately. In the meantime, since we have no military presence on the ground, the only thing we can do is try to use our diplomatic capacity, in order to avoid this kind of increased level of action and reaction.
Question: Every time we hold meetings like this, and we have a new development in the Middle East, I am asked on air: “What can the European Union do to contribute to ending the war between Israel and Hamas?” So, I would like to take this opportunity to ask you the following question: What can the European Union do? What are you doing to contribute to ending the war?
Answer: I would like to have the ability to end the war. First, the European Union is not a state. It's a group of countries, and you know, they have a different approach to this war. We have a minimum of land, and everyone agrees on the need for a humanitarian truce, and increased humanitarian support for those affected by the war. This is the minimum agreement between member states. But when the moment comes to vote at the United Nations, some demand a ceasefire, an immediate and permanent ceasefire; Some countries require this, others are against it, and others abstain. Therefore, it is very difficult to play an important role if you - within the club - have such different positions. Today, in our discussion, it was clear that some Member States consider an immediate ceasefire necessary, and others still do not see this necessity, because they believe that Israel must continue the fight against Hamas. The conversation - as the minister said - approached a position closer to demanding a cessation of hostilities.
What we can do is what we do. Many ministers have traveled to the Middle East. Today, French Foreign Minister Stephane Ségournet was traveling to Israel, and others have gone [before]. There is a lot of diplomatic activity, a lot of humanitarian support for the people in Gaza. We are now discussing our position with regard to UNRWA, where, as I said, there are also different approaches. Some say: "Well, this is the moment to increase our support for UNRWA - not to cancel it, but to increase it." Others say: “I will think twice before continuing to support.” Others say: “Yes, I will continue to support, but I will wait until there is a clear understanding of the situation.”
In general, the position of the European Union and member states is to pressure Israel to comply with international law. Because it is one thing to say that international law must be respected, and another thing is that international law is effectively respected. In this regard as well, there are different methods.
Question: Regarding Turkey: I would like to ask whether 2024 will remain a testing year for Turkey or are the steps taken so far sufficient to make further progress, even regarding visa liberalization?
Well, as I said, everyone agrees that I think we have to move toward strong engagement with Turkey to avoid confrontation and increase cooperation. But this will depend on the development of facts. What is clear is that we must engage more with Türkiye. If we want to avoid confrontation and increase cooperation, we have to get more involved. I don't know exactly what will happen regarding visa[edit] and other specific issues that were not discussed today. But the general feeling is that even in order to resolve the Cyprus issue - which for us Cyprus is a member of the European Union - is very high on our agenda, we have to engage more with Turkey in a positive way.