“Annexation would inevitably have significant consequences for the close relationship we currently enjoy with Israel,” Borrell said. “I will not prejudge the specific impact of a possible annexation, but let me underline that the EU has its own obligations and responsibility under international and EU law.”Borrell added that he is using all of the EU’s “diplomatic capacities in order to put pressure for that not to happen” and that he expressed “the gravity of such an announcement” in conversations with Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.At the same time, Borrell admitted that “it is difficult to find unanimity” on the matter – referring to opposition from Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic to past warnings he released – though there is “a strong, very strong majority of countries that continue supporting a negotiated two-state solution based on international parameters and considering that any annexation would be against international law.”Diplomats from Brussels and EU member states have said that economic sanctions on Israel are unlikely in case of annexation. However, other agreements, such Israel's participation in the multi-billion Euro Horizon Europe scientific research funding mechanism and the Erasmus Plus educational cooperation program, both due to be renewed next year, could be at stake.The European Parliament finalized the Open Skies aviation agreement between the EU and Israel on Thursday, but the EU said: "The vote today does not prejudge the EU position on future political developments in Israel."US President Donald Trump’s “Vision for Peace” for Israel and the Palestinians would allow Israel to apply its laws to 30% of the West Bank, including all settlements and the Jordan Valley. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he would like to proceed with doing so in July, though Gantz and Ashkenazi still have misgivings. As such, sovereignty over a smaller portion of the West Bank is under consideration by the parties.EU position is clear: We continue supporting a negotiated two-state solution, based on international parameters. We strongly urge Israel to refrain from any unilateral decision that would lead to the annexation of any occupied Palestinian territory.pic.twitter.com/WpEW4i15Xi
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) June 18, 2020
Borrell: Annexation to have ‘significant consequences’ for EU-Israel ties
Borrell added that he is using all of the EU’s “diplomatic capacities in order to put pressure for that not to happen.”
