Editorial: Jobs for the boys - but just show your face once in a while
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The Guardian
8 minutes ago
- The Guardian
By failing to sanction Israel, EU leaders are complicit in its crimes. They must act now
If they survive Donald Trump's attacks, the international courts will not deliver their final verdict for several years. But for all those who have ears to hear and eyes to see, there can be little doubt that the Israeli government is committing genocide in Gaza, slaughtering and starving civilians after systematically destroying all the infrastructure in the territory. In the meantime, settlers and the Israeli army are every day guilty of serious, massive and repeated violations of international law and international humanitarian law in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Those who do not act to stop this genocide and these violations of international law, even though they have the power to do so, are complicit in them. This is unfortunately the case with the leaders of the European Union and those of its member states, who refuse to sanction Israel even though the EU has a legal obligation to do so. The EU has many levers it could pull to exert significant influence on the Israeli government. The EU is Israel's biggest trading partner and its main partner in investment and people-to-people exchange. It is also one of its major arms suppliers. The association agreement between the EU and Israel, established in 2000 after the Oslo accords, is the most favourable of all those concluded by the bloc with third countries. In addition to zero customs duties on its exports of goods and services and visa-free travel for its citizens, the agreement gives Israel access to several major European funding and exchange programmes such as Horizon and Erasmus. However, article 2 of this agreement makes it conditional on Israel's respect for international law and fundamental human rights. Whether or not to suspend it is therefore not a choice that the EU can make at will. Since the EU foreign affairs ministers found that Israel was not respecting these rights, EU leaders now have a legal obligation to suspend the agreement. Failure to do so would also be a serious violation of the association agreement with Israel. However, despite all my efforts to this end when I was high representative of the EU, and despite the dramatic deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the increasing violations of international law in the West Bank in recent months, the EU and most EU governments have so far failed to use any of the levers available to them to exert pressure on the Israeli government. As a result, faced with the intransigence of Benjamin Netanyahu's government, the EU has for more than a year and a half been unable to assert its commitment to fundamental human rights, its defence of international law and multilateralism, or its longstanding position in favour of the two-state solution. This inaction has already seriously damaged its geopolitical standing, not only in the Muslim world but across the globe. The stark contrast between the firm response of the European authorities to Russia's aggression against Ukraine and their passivity in the face of the war in Gaza has been widely exploited by Vladimir Putin's propaganda against the EU. And with success, as we have seen in particular in the Sahel. This European double standard has also greatly weakened support for Ukraine in many developing countries. By persisting in not suspending the association agreement despite its clear violation by Israel, in not blocking arms deliveries to that country despite the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza, in not banning imports from illegal settlements despite the decisions of the international court of justice to that effect, by not sanctioning Israeli ministers and political leaders who make genocidal statements, by not banning Netanyahu from using European airspace despite the arrest warrant issued by the international criminal court, and by not supporting the judges of the court and UN officials sanctioned by the United States, the EU and its member states are discrediting themselves in the eyes of the world and undermining the international law and multilateral order they are supposed to defend. While under attack from Putin in the east and Trump in the west, the EU is thus deepening its isolation by cutting itself off from the rest of the world. The leaders of the EU and its member states will probably be called to account in the future for their complicity in the crimes against humanity committed by Netanyahu's government. And, with hindsight, Europeans will undoubtedly judge harshly their blindness to the genocide that is taking place. However, it is urgent to limit the damage now. The EU must finally decide to sanction Israel without further delay. This is the only language that can bring Israeli leaders to stop committing crimes against humanity. Josep Borrell was the high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy from 2019 to 2024. He is president of the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, CIDOB
The Herald Scotland
23 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
BA's owner says Arora's plan for shorter third runway at Heathrow is ‘credible'
Mr Arora and Heathrow's owners submitted rival third runway plans to the Government this week. The former is proposing to build a shorter, 2,800-metre (9,186ft) runway so the M25 motorway does not need to be diverted. His Arora Group company claims this would result in 'reduced risk' and avoid 'spiralling cost'. In contrast, Heathrow is seeking permission for a full length, 3,500-metre (11,482ft) runway. It says a short runway would reduce operational flexibility, and still require either additional capacity on the M25 or alternative rail schemes. British Airways is the largest airline operating at Heathrow. Mr Gallego said: 'We need to work closely with both parties to understand better what they have proposed because the proposals are not comparable.' He said they are 'different solutions that we need to analyse'. Mr Gallego said the proposals are 'credible' (Maja Smiejkowska/PA) Mr Gallego added: 'We have two credible proposals. 'We always think that competition is good to improve things, and we have seen that in commercial aviation in the past.' Mr Gallego continued: 'We need to work with both of them. We don't have any preference. 'We only want to build something affordable that'll allow everybody to have more passengers, but they don't have to pay the level they are paying today.' He said a change in Heathrow's regulatory model is required if a third runway is to be built, as 'this level of investment is not possible with the current one'. Heathrow said its runway and airfield plan would be privately funded at a cost of £21 billion. Its total plan, including terminals and supporting infrastructure, would be expected to cost £49 billion. Mr Arora's plan has a cost estimate of under £25 billion, not including the redevelopment of the airport's existing central area. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander will consider the third runway plans over the summer so that a review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) can begin later this year. The ANPS will provide the basis for decision-making on any development consent order application.
The National
38 minutes ago
- The National
Rachel Reeves visits Scotland to promote defence plans
CHANCELLOR Rachel Reeves is set to visit the North East on Friday, saying that the UK Government is investing billions to grow the economy and support jobs in Scotland. Reeves said Labour is 'seizing the huge potential and opportunities that Scotland has to offer", particularly in defence and energy. The remarks come as she plans to visit RAF Lossiemouth in Moray and the St Fergus gas plant in Aberdeenshire – just one week after a photo-op at Rolls-Royce near Glasgow Airport. READ MORE: More Scots need to benefit from Scotland's screen industry, John Swinney says During Friday's visit, Reeves is expected to meet with 200 Boeing employees at the Lossiemouth military base, where work is ongoing on three E-7 Wedgetail aircraft. The UK Government claims that its plan to increase defence spending to 2.6% of GDP could boost the economy by around 0.3% and create 26,100 jobs in Scotland. Officials also cited a proposed £200 million investment in the Acorn carbon capture project in Aberdeenshire. While this has been touted as potentially supporting up to 33,000 new and protected jobs, a final decision on the funding has yet to be made. Reeves said: 'We're seizing the huge potential and opportunities that Scotland has on offer. 'Whether it's in defence to keep the UK safe, or clean energy to power all corners of the country, this Government is backing Scotland with billions of pounds of investment.' Scottish Secretary Ian Murray echoed the message, describing the funding as a 'defence dividend' that would drive economic growth and help plug skills gaps across sectors like nuclear, maritime and construction. Industry voices largely welcomed the funding, though not without caveats. Boeing UK's president, Maria Laine, pointed to past investments in facilities at RAF Lossiemouth and said the company had 'seen first-hand' how defence infrastructure spending can benefit jobs and supply chains. CBI Scotland director Michelle Ferguson called the announcement of £200 million for the Acorn project 'encouraging', but noted that businesses are still awaiting final approval. She added that defence spending could help strengthen Scotland's skilled workforce and drive growth. READ MORE: How David Lammy went from human rights lawyer to genocide apologist However, not all stakeholders were fully aligned with the Government's approach. The Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce urged Reeves to scrap the energy profits levy (EPL) – a windfall tax on oil and gas firms with a headline rate of 78%. Chief executive Russell Borthwick warned that continued pressure on North Sea energy production could result in declining output, job losses, and increased reliance on imports – just as the country needs domestic production to underpin its energy transition. Borthwick said: 'There's no need to start from scratch or build out a nascent industry. 'Simply by removing the confiscatory EPL, letting investment flow, and stimulating activity in a sector that's been hit hard by policy, we can unlock significant growth.'
