Disagreement among EU on sanctioning Israel over settlement annexation

Pointing to past disagreements on statements about the matter, Borrell said that the current ones came up “when we discussed it a couple of months ago – and I suppose this divide is there.”

By LAHAV HARKOV
Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, holds a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, January 10, 2020. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, holds a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, January 10, 2020.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
EU member states are divided on how to respond to the possibility of Israel applying sovereignty in the West Bank, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said in a press conference on Tuesday.
“Everything in [EU] foreign policy requires unanimity, especially sanctions, and we are [at this] time being far away from discussing about sanctioning,” Borrell said in response to a journalist’s question about the matter. “But it’s important for me and for the European Union foreign policy to know which is the position of the member states with respect to the respect of international law and how we can judge it.”
Borrell said he cannot advance a decision on an EU response to potential annexation because the matter is “a very divisive issue inside the [Foreign Affairs] Council and different member states have different positions.”
Pointing to past disagreements on statements about the matter, Borrell said the disagreements came up “when we discussed it a couple of months ago and I suppose this divide is there.”
Borrell plans to speak to the new Israeli foreign minister – expected to be MK Gabi Ashkenazi of Blue and White – once the new government is sworn in, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday afternoon.
After that, he will discuss EU response to possible annexation with foreign ministers of member states on Friday.
The coalition agreement for the new government stipulates that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can hold a vote on applying Israeli sovereignty to settlements and the Jordan Valley, comprising about 30% of the West Bank, on July 1 at the earliest. US President Donald Trump's peace plan would have America recognize that sovereignty, and the rest of the West Bank would be saved for a potential Palestinian state under certain conditions.
Borrell has released his own statements against annexation, saying soon after the Trump plan was presented in January that “steps towards annexation, if implemented, could not pass unchallenged.”
The EU official reiterated his disapproval in late April, but eight of the 27 EU countries opposed the statement, which an Israeli diplomatic source said was more than had been against any previous statement on Israel. Sources in EU states said the second statement surprised them and they had been expecting more debate; their concerns were mainly about timing, because Israel’s government has not yet been sworn in.
These statements are not considered EU policy, because there is no consensus by member states on the matter. Hungary in particular has been instrumental in blocking any clear warnings to Israel.

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Borrell has reportedly advocated for sanctions on Israel if it moves forward with annexation.
The EU is particularly sensitive to the matter of annexation, having sanctioned Russia for annexing Crimea and because part of member state Cyprus is occupied by Turkey. For this reason, some of the EU countries that are friendliest to Israel still support sending a warning message.
In lieu of an official EU statement, ambassadors to Israel of 11 European countries, the EU and the UK registered a formal complaint with the Foreign Ministry earlier this month. They said annexation would violate international law, harm chances for peace and hurt Israel's international standing.


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