Recognition of Palestine roils European countries
I am around in Brussels this week, and this newsletter is still rolling, so get in touch.
Were you forwarded this newsletter by a friend? Sign up here.
In today's edition: A fractured path to recognising Palestine
Ukraine: Graft scheme uncovered
EU probes Minsk-Benghazi flights
Poland extends border control
Pope Leo rallies Catholic youth In the capital
Israel is facing its fiercest European backlash in years. Amid worsening famine in Gaza, governments across the continent are stepping up pressure, with even Germany – the most stalwart of allies – hardening its tone.
Some EU member states are airlifting aid to Palestinians and pondering the idea of suspending Israel from the bloc's flagship research programme, Horizon Europe. The phrase 'diplomatic tsunami,' once coined by former Israeli officials to describe a sweeping wave of global backlash, is making a comeback, in Israel's own media.
At the heart of Europe's political debate this month is a contentious and long-standing question: should the bloc formally recognise a Palestinian state?
France and Saudi Arabia are leading the charge, aiming to build momentum before the UN General Assembly in September, during which more nations are expected to recognise Palestine. Given its sort of quasi-state status, recognition carries a weight more symbolic than practical – a powerful moral and political gesture, yet one unlikely to alter realities on the ground.
Several European nations – including Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and Norway – made the move last year. In recent weeks, the UK, Malta, and Finland have also made announcements in France's footsteps.
But momentum is far from uniform. In several of the former communist EU states that once supported recognition, enthusiasm has cooled.
In Finland, the ruling centre-right National Coalition Party was forced to walk back its support after coalition partners said they had not been consulted. The backlash now threatens the government's stability.
In Belgium, right-wing parts of the government – the Flemish nationalist N-VA and French-speaking liberal MR – are resisting recognition, clashing with the left-leaning Les Engagés, Christian Democrats and Flemish socialists.
Portugal's centre-right PM Luis Montenegro, under pressure from the populist far-right Chega party, has opted for caution, pledging to seek consensus before making any decisions.
France argues that recognising Palestine could jump start the moribund two-state solution, pointing to an unprecedented agreement among Arab and European nations last week that conditions Palestinian statehood on Hamas disbanding and relinquishing control of Gaza.
Hamas, however, insists it will only lay down arms once it has a state. Israel and the US warn that recognition now would only embolden Hamas to avoid pursuing peace in negotiations – which remain deadlocked.
Meanwhile, the war intensifies. Last night, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu pushed to expand the offensive in Gaza, citing newly released, gruesome videos of hostages Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David as proof Hamas' intransigence. He again vowed to secure the release of hostages – 20 of whom are believed to be alive – by military force.
Netanyahu is clinging to power with the support of far-right ministers who have threatened to bring down the government if he ends the war. But his hardline approach has drawn rare condemnation from Israel's former military and security establishment, which recently issued a joint plea for a ceasefire – an appeal that was ignored.
At the EU level, foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas led the bloc's response, denouncing the hostage videos from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian militant group. France's Emmanuel Macron decried Hamas' 'unlimited inhumanity,' while Germany's Friedrich Merz said the group was torturing hostages, terrorising Israel, and "using Gaza's population as a human shield.'
Belgium's Hadja Lahbib, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, later urged Israel to let aid flow and stop obstructing access for EU humanitarian officials.
Kallas was first to react from Brussels, and a comment by Estonian MP Marko Mihkelson, a senior member of the Reform Party once led by Kallas, captures her sentiment: 'The barbarity of Hamas makes it impossible for Estonia and like-minded countries to recognize Palestine.'
Estonia and other Baltic nations, as well as Germany, Italy, Austria, and the Czech Republic do not recognise Palestine.
As the countdown to September's UN meeting begins, Europe's internal debate is likely to intensify. Until then, Netanyahu holds fast, buoyed by Donald Trump, while hostages remain underground and the war drags on.
Ukraine uncovers corruption scheme in drone procurement
Kyiv's anti-corruption agencies announced Saturday that they had uncovered a major graft scheme involving overpriced contracts for military drones and signals jamming equipment.
Four individuals have been detained so far, though none have been publicly identified yet. The arrests come just days after Ukraine's Parliament restored the agencies' independence following widespread protests sparked by a law that had attempted to curb their autonomy.
A sitting lawmaker, two local officials and an unspecified number of the country's national guard personnel were implicated in the scandal, according to officials, receiving kickbacks of up to 30% on inflated contracts. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the discovery 'absolutely immoral.' Read more.
EU probes Minsk-Benghazi flights amid migration fears
The European Commission is investigating a series of unusual flights from Minsk to Benghazi amid growing concern that Russia may be helping to drive a new wave of irregular migration to southern Europe, an EU official told Euractiv.
The flights, operated by Belarusian carrier Belavia, have raised suspicions in Brussels of possible coordination with authorities in eastern Libya – a region controlled by strongman Khalifa Haftar, who maintains close ties with the Kremlin.
'The frequency and nature of these flights raise questions about potential facilitation of irregular migration flows,' the EU official said. Between January and June 2025, more than 27,000 migrants arrived in Italy from Libya, while over 7,000 reached the Greek island of Crete – triple the number from the same period last year.
Europe has faced a similar situation before. In the summer of 2021, Belarus was at the centre of a migration crisis on its borders with Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia.
Russia was believed to have been indirectly involved in that crisis, with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko playing a central role – facilitating the issuance of visas, organising flights, and transporting migrants from the Middle East and Africa to Minsk. Read more. The Capitals
BERLIN
Israel's provision of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip remains 'very insufficient" despite 'limited initial progress', German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told the country's senior cabinet members.
Wadephul's briefing came after he visited Israel and the Palestinian territories to review efforts in alleviating the suffering of civilians in the Israeli-occupied enclave. The outcome could determine Germany's stance on EU-level sanctions against Israel, Chancellor Merz has said.
PARIS
France has suspended all evacuations from Gaza, Jean-Noël Barrot, the country's foreign ministry said, as domestic outrage mounted over a Palestinian student accused of posting antisemitic content on social media.
The female student, who was studying in the northern city of Lille, had her university accreditation withdrawn and is now expected to leave France, according to authorities.
Since 7 October, Paris has assisted hundreds of people fleeing Gaza. Other Palestinians in the country through its evacuation programme will be 'subject to a new check' in the wake of 'failures that brought this young woman here,' Barrot added.
ROME
Pope Leo XIV received a rock star welcome from hundreds of thousands of young Catholics during a massive open-air vigil on the outskirts of this city over the weekend.
Pope Leo, the first US-born pontiff, presided over a Jubilee of Youth event on Sunday, touring the jampacked Tor Vergata field in his white popemobile, waving, delivering blessings and even catching flags tossed by enthusiastic pilgrims.
According to the Vatican, the event, designed to mobilise the next generation of devotees, was attended by youth from more than 146 countries. The Italian broadcaster Rai described the festival as a 'Catholic woodstock."
LONDON
Britain's financial watchdog has proposed a compensation scheme for victims of car finance mis-selling, estimating the potential cost to lenders to be between £9 and £18 billion (€10 and €21 billion).
The Financial Conduct Authority's plan follows a Supreme Court ruling last week, which eased industry fears of an even larger payout over hidden commissions on motor finance deals. Analysts had warned the total bill could soar into the tens of billions.
MADRID
Dolors Montserrat, secretary general of the European People's Party, on Sunday asked the Commission to decide if Teresa Ribera, the executive's top-ranking vice president, misled lawmakers during her confirmation hearing.
In a question submitted to the Commission, Montserrat accused Ribera of hiding key information about the devastating floods that hit southeastern Spain last October, killing 228 people. Montserrat claims that the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation, a Spanish river basin authority under Ribera's ministerial control, failed to alert the public in a timely manner amid the tragic incident.
WARSAW
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński announced Sunday that border controls with Germany and Lithuania will be extended by two months amid concerns over irregular migration routes shifting through the Baltic region.
Poland first reintroduced border controls last month, responding to similar measures on the German side. Polish PM Donald Tusk has since made lifting the restrictions conditional on a reciprocal move by Berlin. Read more. Also on Euractiv
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euractiv
7 hours ago
- Euractiv
The Brief – Irish farmers wince as tariffs open old wounds
'You can't eat a flag.' The quote popularised by Irish politician and Nobel Prize laureate John Hume was this week repeated to me by a farmer from the Republic of Ireland. The repercussions of US tariffs for economies and sectors around the world are still being assessed – calculations that are complicated by the confusion projected from the White House. But in Ireland, the trade consequences are touching a nerve. It has taken years of diplomacy to make the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland invisible – and managing the immense strain that Brexit created has ensured that the Good Friday Agreement remains a central topic for all concerned parties. Now, a new line is being drawn across the Emerald Isle. An island whose culture and economy are deeply intertwined with agriculture and food will now face two different tariff regimes with a major export market: the US. The Republic, as part of the EU, is now subject to a 15% tariff on agri-food exports to the US. The UK, meanwhile, faces a 10% blanket tariff. But there's a trick – and it took some time for people to spot. Unlike the EU, the UK will see these new tariffs stack with existing WTO duties, which could put certain Northern Irish products – like butter – at a clear disadvantage. The US tariff for butter EU would remain at around 16% (the old tariff), while for the UK it could jump an additional 10%. 'We had Brexiteers roaring and shouting from the rooftops about the benefits of Brexit when they didn't understand the deal,' said Conor Mulvihill, director of Dairy Industry Ireland and part of a family of livestock farmers. But for Irish farmers, there's nothing to celebrate. The island operates as a single food-producing area. "So you have whiskey, you have animals, and they travel just seamlessly up and down,' he added. 'It's a small island for God's sake. It's crazy to think it'd be anything else.' For instance, a third of Northern Irish milk is processed in the south. Under the new tariffs, butter from Northern Ireland will be less competitive than its counterpart in the South. This wasn't the case until the EU-US deal was agreed last month, when some companies operating on both sides of the border considered relocating production to the North, since the UK had already secured an agreement. And the impact changes from product to product. Whiskey, which used to have a zero tariff, will now be at 15% for the EU and 10% for the UK – meaning Northern Irish producers are the ones benefiting in this specific case. All of which means logistical headaches for producers. Roundup What's the plan with China? – The EU might align with Trump's hawkish stance on the Asian manufacturing giant. But this is far from being a concrete strategy, and reducing dependence on China will require a huge shift in trade relationships; all at a time of growing uncertainty. Getting to know Maroš – Despite having spent more than two decades in the EU bubble, surprisingly little is known about the EU trade chief and the bloc's longest-serving commissioner. To understand what drives him, and his improbable journey to Brussels from an elite Soviet diplomatic school, Euractiv spoke to more than 15 people who know him. The cost of silence – Europe has a history of making statements and issuing declarations on Israel and Palestine. But it is far more reluctant to act on its words. As war crimes are committed by Israel, Europe must replace empty threats with actual intent, Gershon Baskin writes in this op-ed. Across Europe Biodiversity vs. social housing – Friche Josaphat in the north of Brussels is Belgium's largest urban wasteland. Now home to birds, butterflies and bees, plans are afoot to build social and accessible housing. But the old rail yard has become a hot potato in the city's notoriously fractious political debates. Europe's growing beach stink – The suffocating brown Asian algae that has troubled southern Spain's fishers for a decade could now spread across the Mediterranean and up into the Bay of Biscay. The rugulopteryx okamurae algae has become a staple scourge in the Strait of Gibraltar, where white sandy beaches from Cádiz to Málaga are turning a deep olive-brown as the soggy sea sludge creeps onto land. Bon vivant (but in moderation, s'il vous plaît) – France's health advisory body is pushing for a reduction in the national recommended meat limit, 'to move towards healthier and more sustainable diets'. A change could shift the focus towards meat that is "more respectful of animal welfare and the environment'. Scheduling note The Brief will be taking a two week break and we'll be back with you on 25 August. (ow, jp)
Euractiv
9 hours ago
- Euractiv
EU says $1.4 trillion spending pledge to US ‘in no way binding'
The European Union's promise to invest over a trillion dollars in US energy and infrastructure is 'in no way binding', Brussels said on Thursday, marking the latest flare-up of tensions with the White House over key aspects of the recent EU-US trade deal. 'The commitments… we have transmitted to the US administration [are] aggregate intentions as regards energy spending and as regards investment in the US economy by EU companies,' Commission spokesperson Olof Gill told reporters on Thursday, adding that they are "in no way binding." "The Commission does not have the power and would never seek the power to try to enforce something like that, but they are faithfully transmitted intentions,' he added. His remarks came two days after US President Donald Trump threatened to hit the EU with a 35% tariff if the bloc failed to deliver on its commitment to invest $600 billion in US infrastructure over the next three and a half years of Trump's presidential term. The investment pledge is a central pillar of the EU-US deal clinched two weeks ago between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The agreement also includes a separate EU commitment to purchase $750 billion worth of US energy until 2028. 'They gave us $600 billion that we can invest in anything we want,' he said on Tuesday. 'I can do anything I want with it. And the purpose was, they've been, you know, ripping us for so many years that it's time that they pay up, and they have to pay up.' Gill's comments came on the same day that the 15% blanket levy agreed by the EU and the US in the so-called 'framework agreement' came into force. Most EU exports to the US were previously subject to a 10% minimum duty, on top of an average 4.8% levy agreed before Trump's return to the White House in January. The new 15% levy – which EU officials describe as a 'ceiling' – includes the 4.8% rate. However, US tariffs on EU cars and car parts remain subject to a special tariff totalling 27.5%, despite both sides indicating those products would be covered by the 15% levy. Gill said he was unable to give a 'timeline' for when that higher car tariff would be lowered. 'We have a clear commitment from the US that our 15% across the board tariff ceiling will also capture EU exports of cars and car parts, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors, and we look forward to that being implemented ASAP,' he said. Eddy Wax and Nikolaus J. Kurmayer contributed reporting. (de)
Euractiv
9 hours ago
- Euractiv
EXCLUSIVE: Far fewer aid trucks entering Gaza than EU demands, document states
Four times fewer aid trucks are entering Gaza from Israel than the EU demands, according to a document the European Commission shared on Wednesday with national capitals. The document, written by the EU executive and its diplomatic wing, is a fortnightly update on the state of aid flowing into the strip, where humanitarian agencies and international organisations warn a famine is now taking place. This is amid Israel's war against Hamas. Israel denies that its military offensive is causing a famine and blames the UN for not distributing the aid it says Hamas regularly steals. Brussels has already slammed Israel for mass killings at four aid sites established by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). "Between 31 July and 4 August, the UN, and our partners report that 188 trucks were offloaded at crossing points to Gaza," states the document seen by Euractiv. However, that is far lower than the roughly 800 trucks per five days that an EU official said should be entering Gaza under the terms of a deal the EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, recently struck with Israel. Under the deal, details about which are scant, around 160 trucks of aid per day should enter Gaza. The UN says at least 500 to 600 trucks per day are needed to prevent further starvation. The document states that Israel argues a much higher number of trucks – 737 – entered Gaza via the two main crossing points at Kerem Shalom and Zikim between 31 July and 4 August. The document says: "Israel includes commercial and GHF operations in its daily counting of trucks." It also says that: "Israel continues to make the point that many trucks [...] are waiting to be collected by partners for distribution, something that according to the UN is still attributable to poor security environment and other major impediments." According to the document, fuel deliveries into Gaza have 'increased' and are 'enough to sustain critical life-saving operations but [are] not sufficient to allow all humanitarian operations to run." In total, 874,000 litres of fuel entered the enclave between 28 July and 4 August, while no fuel was allowed in for three months before July, it notes. "Increase of those quantities is needed urgently," it adds. It also notes that COGAT, the Israeli authority responsible for overseeing civilian life in Gaza, has pledged to boost fuel deliveries from 23 to 30 tankers per week. 'If implemented, this would mark significant progress,' the document states. The UN said on Tuesday that "much more fuel is needed daily to run life-saving and emergency operations" in Gaza. "Current levels of fuel are only allowing the UN and its humanitarian partners to function at the bare minimum," it added. Three fuel tankers entered Gaza City on Monday, the UN said, which will be "used to power the most critical health, water and sanitation and emergency telecommunication facilities." The numbers that the EU shared with diplomats in the document come from the UN, and the Commission says that the EU cannot independently verify the data. "What we can say is that despite this partial progress, we are not where we would want to be in terms of the number of trucks being able to make their way to the destination," said Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen at a press conference in Brussels on Thursday. "We do not have presence there, we rely on information from our partners, notably the UN," Itkonen said. EU humanitarian aid Commissioner Hadja Lahbib has said she is prepared to visit Gaza herself. Israel barred top aid civil servant Maciej Popowski from entering last week. This is a developing story. (jp, mm)
