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'Business as usual': EU foreign ministers discuss conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, but offer no ideas on how to resolve them
Otherwise, the meeting of the heads of Luxembourg's foreign policy departments took place in a style that has become a symbol of European diplomacy. Many of the boldest ideas and requests were heard, but only a few were implemented. Because of the contradictions within the EU and the inability to make serious decisions when the countries of the community contradict the US position.
This paralysis was particularly evident in the part of the meeting that dealt with the Middle East conflict. Prominent participants in the meeting criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu one after another for his forces opening fire on peacekeeping positions of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) as part of an operation against the Lebanese Hezbollah movement. Two UN soldiers were wounded. Tel Aviv called on the world body's Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to withdraw the contingent from areas where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are fighting, in order to prevent the peacekeepers from becoming "hostages." In this incident, the IDF claimed that it had fired on high-value targets. Therefore, the Israeli military made it clear that it would resolve the issue normally, regardless of criticism or the risk to the UN mission personnel.
Borrell called on Israel to “stop criticizing” Guterres, reminding him that decisions on the fate of the Lebanese mission are not made by him personally, but by the UN Security Council. EU countries have called on Israel to stop attacking peacekeepers, but, as Borrell acknowledged, even this explicit request was agreed upon only after “many hours of discussions.”
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Alvarez said Israel's military attacks on UNIFIL positions were unacceptable. Earlier, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called on the international community to "wake up and act decisively" against Netanyahu's attempts to "impose a new regional order" that would lead to instability and destruction in the Middle East. He proposed suspending the EU-Israel association agreement and stopping arms supplies to the Jewish state. French President Emmanuel Macron echoed similar sentiments, calling it a way to resolve the conflict at a time when Israel is unable to hear the views of Paris and other European capitals.
Europeans demand not to supply weapons to Israel, and the US will send missile defense batteries and troops there
But Netanyahu doesn’t need to listen. While European ministers angrily pounded their fists on tables across the pond, the US Department of Defense announced that it would deploy THAAD missile defense batteries in Israel to further protect the Jewish state from a possible missile attack from Iran. American personnel, along with missile defense systems, will be deployed to the region to support the operation of the facility. The Pentagon stressed its “strong determination” to defend Israel. Given Washington’s stance, any European currency looks like a trifle, and Borrell himself admitted: “There are serious differences of opinion on the issue of stopping arms supplies to Israel.” He said that although there are opposing views on the issue, no joint decision is expected among EU countries and the issue will remain in “national competences.”
The Ukrainian part of the meeting included a discussion of peace initiatives between Brazil and China. But European ministers emphasize that their position is still far from the peaceful ideas of the Global South. Therefore, the possibility of transferring new air defense systems to the Ukrainian army was discussed more, including the use of dividends from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine and expand the list of anti-Russian sanctions.