EU leaders call for 'pause' in Gaza to open 'humanitarian corridors'

The European Union has not been immune to crises, but it does seem to have become accustomed to living with them, even in those in which unity is not as clear as happened with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.. That is precisely what is happening regarding the war between Israel and Hamas and with that division on the table the leaders of the 27 met this Thursday at a new summit of the European Council in Brussels.

The goal was to find consensus language to call for a humanitarian response, whether calling it a “pause,” a “humanitarian ceasefire,” or “humanitarian pauses,” plural. There the heads of State and Government ran aground, with harder positions like those of Austria or Germany, and other lighter ones like those of France or Italy.. Finally, the Member States have agreed to request “a pause due to humanitarian needs” in the bombings with the objective “of opening corridors” for the exit of civilians, according to the conclusions.

In the final document, the 27 advocate the “protection of civilians”, as well as the search for a diplomatic solution with a dialogue with the Palestinian Authority. Furthermore, they commit to working on the two-state solution, which the EU has defended for decades.. In the last point they also warn of the need to combat the misinformation that exists around the conflict. In the current situation, they are also committed to holding a peace conference “soon”, an idea that Spain has already put on the table.

Sources from the Spanish delegation recognized that emphasis is being placed on the negotiating effort and in this scenario the EU must have a clear position, facing the humanitarian crisis that is occurring and in which aid must be delivered to civilians. affected. The debate was on how: whether with humanitarian pauses, a humanitarian pause or with a ceasefire, always taking into account Israel's right to defend itself in accordance with International Law.. Spain is in favor of a “humanitarian ceasefire”, as the acting president, Pedro Sánchez, has repeated for days.

The Spanish Executive did not give importance to the language but rather to ensuring that humanitarian aid reaches Gaza. The sources defended, however, that the first to speak of this concept is Sánchez, while insisting on the defense of the two States as the most feasible path to peace and that Spain also sees it as closer almost than ever at this time.. Thus, the president has insisted on holding a peace conference between Israel and Palestine “in six months” precisely in Spain, to give a concrete horizon to the resolution of the conflict.

These conclusions provide an answer to what is urgent and important.

The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, assured that “unity is our strength” as the European Union, and from Moncloa they celebrated the agreement. “These conclusions provide an answer to what is urgent and important,” they summarized, while adding that the points “offer a perspective to reach a solution to the conflict” through the “materialization of the two States.”. Likewise, they very gladly welcomed the option of a peace conference, precisely at the proposal of Spain.

Already before the summit, Michel himself assured that the 27 have to avoid “double standards” regarding the situation between Israel and Palestine. “Some in the world use these circumstances to unite part of the international community to attack the EU and raise doubts about our credibility,” said the Belgian leader, while supporting the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, after the criticism received from the Israeli Government.

The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, expressed for her part that the European Parliament “has shown that it is possible to have a united position to denounce the Hamas attacks and denounce the humanitarian situation in Gaza”, because both things, she reiterated, “are not exclusive”. The Maltese leader added that it is “important to send a message of unity” like that seen in other similar situations, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Metsola, in fact, asked leaders to take note of Parliament's position, and also its language. “My appeal will be not to underestimate how difficult and delicate it was to adopt it, but we did it, and we ask other institutions to pay attention to that language,” he said.. Other leaders such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni were also optimistic about the agreement, and the latter even defended possible EU mediation in the conflict in the medium term.

Zelensky and Ukraine, in the background

Ukraine has also been on the leaders' agenda, and the meeting in fact took place in parallel with the announcement of the new Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, who announced the end of his country's aid to Kiev, something that he had already announced in Campaign. The one who implicitly celebrated this step was the Hungarian leader, Viktor Orbán, who met Vladimir Putin in Beijing last week.. “I have a peace strategy,” the Magyar prime minister told reporters, equating the conflict between Israel and Hamas with the Russian invasion.

“Do you support a ceasefire?” journalists asked Orbán. “Between Russia and Ukraine, yes,” he quickly responded, after openly defending his meeting with the Russian president.. “We have a clear and transparent policy that differs from that of the majority. We have to do everything to have peace. That is why we maintain all lines of communication with the Russians, otherwise there will be no chance for peace,” he summarized.. Furthermore, this is the last summit of another of its great partners so far, Mateusz Morawiecki, who will hand over the baton at the head of Poland to Donald Tusk in the coming weeks, depending on the result of the last elections.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke at the start of the summit. He does not want the European Union to forget that Russia continues to invade Ukraine while now all the focus is on the war between Israel and Hamas. Kiev maintains that joining the community bloc is one of its major objectives for the short and medium term, and this was made known this Thursday by the president to the leaders of the 27. “Even despite the large-scale war, we do not ask for exceptions to the general rules,” Zelensky said of the entry.

In this sense, Zelensky had a message for the member states, which are the ones that have the final say on accession.. “We count on your unity in response to the decision to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union. This decision will be one of the strongest of this decade and will largely determine the future path” of the Union, he said.. It is almost an all or nothing decision, in the words of the president himself. “Either our entire Europe wins – together with Ukraine, together with Moldova, and in the future together with Georgia and Belarus – or the past will win. “I am sure that you are all on the side of modern Europe,” he concluded, with an implicit message about Vladimir Putin's Russia.