Latest news with #SvenKühnvonBurgsdorff
Euractiv
6 days ago
- Politics
- Euractiv
The EU's moral collapse
Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff served as the European Union Representative to the occupied Palestinian territory, based in East Jerusalem, from January 2020 until his departure in July 2025. Prior to his role in Jerusalem, he served as a Senior Advisor on Mediation within the European External Action Service. The EU likes to think of itself as a normative power – a community of values, committed to upholding international law, promoting peace, protecting civilians, and building a rules-based global order. These are not just lofty ideals; they are enshrined in EU treaties and Council conclusions. But when it comes to the brutal destruction of Gaza and the continued occupation of Palestine, these principles seem to have become hollow rhetoric. Worse, they are being actively undermined by the craven inaction of the EU's institutions and the obstructionism of governments like Germany, Italy, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. While Germany undoubtedly has a historic responsibility to protect Jewish life and the security of the Jewish people, this does in no way justify placing Israeli government actions above international law. If the German government were serious about securing Israel's future and preventing another 7 October from happening, it would have to work tirelessly to end the occupation of Palestine and the ongoing military campaign in Gaza that, in my view, blatantly violates international humanitarian law. The European Commission has also been shamefully absent. Only as a result of recent pressure by many member states did it eventually propose the most tepid of measures by suspending access for Israeli SMEs under a dual-use innovation window of Horizon Europe. Even this minor proposal by the Commission is being blocked by spoiler governments. While tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians have reportedly been killed, maimed and starved, and nearly the entire population of Gaza displaced, the EU dithers. The ICJ has issued provisional measures towards Israel for what it sees as the risk of genocide in Gaza – warnings the Netanyahu government has flatly ignored – and declared that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The UN, human rights organisations, and many former Israeli top military and intelligence officials have sounded the alarm about Israel's actions in Gaza and its policies in the West Bank. The EU has ample tools at its disposal to pressure Israel to end its brutal war in Gaza, dismantle the occupation, and move towards a viable two-state solution, with an independent and democratic Palestinian state living side by side in peace with Israel. If the EU remains unable to muster political will for collective action, then the moral, political and legal burden falls on individual Member States. Countries like Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia have already taken encouraging steps in recognising the state of Palestine and demanding accountability. But much more is needed now. European countries that claim to support human rights and uphold international law must start acting within their own prerogatives to bring their influence to bear. For starters, this would mean u nilaterally suspending or revoking arms export licenses to Israel under their own national export control laws, including for dual-use equipment and technology. Individual countries can also stop funding national co-financed projects involving Israeli entities, or withdraw from joint research agreements with Israeli institutions. They can impose their own national sanctions regimes on human rights grounds, including visa bans and asset freezes. While some Nordic countries have such laws, others could use counterterrorism laws to freeze assets. S ettlement-linked companies can be excluded from public procurement and state investment funds. On top of this, state-owned enterprises or sovereign wealth funds can divest from settlement-linked companies, and national authorities can ban port calls or airspace use for Israeli military vessels and aircraft. Finally, member states with universal jurisdiction provisions can prosecute suspected Israeli and Palestinian war criminals if they enter their territory, or in some cases even in absentia. All member states are of course obliged to support the ICC in arrest warrants and investigations. Individual countries should establish coalitions of the willing that take matters into their own hands as long as the EU remains frozen. Europe's image as a principled, reliable, and rules-based actor is being destroyed – not by autocratic Russia and China, or other adversaries with dictatorial regimes, but by its own refusal to enforce international law when the perpetrator is an ally. At the heart of this disgraceful paralysis are governments that have chosen to side with impunity. The EU spoiler governments are not acting in the interest of peace between Israel and Palestine. They are undermining European unity and damaging the EU's global credibility and partnerships. They are also complicit in prolonging the suffering of millions of Palestinians, endangering Israel's security. The EU's inaction is not just a strategic blunder – it is an appalling moral failure as it enables Israel's impunity and entrenches a conflict that will continue to fuel instability, radicalisation, and despair for generations in the Middle East. Palestinians deserve freedom, dignity, and self-determination. Israelis deserve peace and security within internationally recognised borders. Both peoples deserve leaders – and international partners – who spare no effort in working towards peace and justice, not a never-ending cycle of violence and perpetual domination.
Euronews
06-08-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
EU credibility at risk over Israel stance, warns ex-ambassador
ADVERTISEMENT Alleged double standards in the EU's application of international law towards Ukraine and the Gaza Strip are eroding Europe's credibility with the Global South, with which the bloc is eager to strike trade deals, a former EU ambassador to the Palestinian occupied territories and the Gaza Strip has told Euronews in an interview. 'We have unfortunately lost our standing in the world. If you talk now to the Global South - the majority of countries with whom we want stronger relationships in trade, economic resources, raw materials, and energy supplies - you will find a situation where it is very difficult to mobilise these partnerships,' said former envoy Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff. Kühn von Burgsdorff served as EU ambassador to Palestinian occupied territories and the Gaza Strip between January 2020 and July 2023. He was recently a coordinator of a letter sent by 27 former EU ambassadors - and subsequently endorsed by 58 - to heads of governments and EU institutions on July 10, calling for actions against Israel due to the ongoing situations in Gaza and in the West Bank. 'I was very much impressed by the speed to act against Russia's completely illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. However, what we have done in the Palestinian case was just shameful. We have actually closed our eyes,' Kühn von Burgsdorff told Euronews. Currently the Bahamas and Micronesia are the sole official and active supporters of Europe in its war against Russia from the Global South, according to the ex-EU ambassador. 'This means countries from the Global South do not take the EU and the member states seriously when we pledge to actually support human rights and defend international law,' said the ex-EU envoy, adding that to regain credibility, the bloc needs to 'act against what we are seeing every day in Gaza'. On 7 October, 2023, Hamas attacked Israeli communities near Gaza, killing around 1,200 people, and kidnapped 251 people. As of June, 50 hostages remained, of which 27 presumed dead. Since October 7, Israel intensified military assaults in Gaza and the West Bank, causing over 60,000 casualties in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. On 29 July, the UN said that intermittent blockages of aid since March were causing famine and widespread starvation. 'What is happening every day and night is a horrifying spectacle of killing and mutilating innocent Gazans in pursuit of the Netanyahu government's stated objective of destroying Hamas. The problem is that, under international humanitarian law, there are established principles governing the conduct of war, such as the distinction between military and civilian targets, the proportionality of actions taken, and precautionary measures to minimise civilian harm and collateral damage. None of these principles have been observed,' the ex-EU envoy claimed The Israeli government has described its fight against Hamas as existential war and insisted that it has kept within the bounds of international law. EU inaction The former EU envoy criticised the inaction of the bloc as well as the inefficacy of the humanitarian deal struck between the EU and Israel, announced by the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas on 10 July. 'Kallas announced that on 14 July, a substantial increase in humanitarian aid would enter Gaza. Unfortunately, the opposite happened. Not only was no additional aid allowed in, but since that announcement, hundreds of innocent civilians have been killed at aid distribution points,' the former EU ambassador said. Since April, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an organisation co-managed by Israel and the US, has been responsible for distributing food in the Gaza Strip, following the disengagement of UN authorities from aid delivery. But since the start of its activities, the Foundation has been heavily criticised by NGOs and UN agencies for its distribution practices, including for episodes of alleged shootings by the Israeli army at starving people trying to reach food supplies. As of 13 July, 875 people died while trying to reach food, the UN reported. 'We really have now to act in order to avoid a complete genocide taking place there. It seems to be an emerging consensus among the European populace, notably among young people, where a clear majority wants our government to take action against this ongoing massacre,' Kühn von Burgsdorff said. Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa'ar told AP on 28 July that labelling the war as genocide was baseless and only emboldened Hamas. Sa'ar said Israel targets Hamas and not civilians. The proposition of the ex-EU envoys The 58 former EU ambassadors made several recommendations for how they considered the bloc should respond to Israel, including suspending trade agreements, ending research and cultural collaboration, and halting arms sales to Israel, Kühn von Burgsdorff told Euronews. 'We could fully suspend the agreement, but that requires consensus among all 27 member states, which, based on our assessment, is unlikely. However, we can act by qualified majority, meaning at least 15 member states representing two-thirds of the EU population can decide on commercial policy measures. In this case, we suggest suspending all preferential trade arrangements with Israel,' the ex-EU envoy said. In the letter, the ex-ambassadors proposed halting all trade with illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, and sanctioning violent Israeli settlers. 'Almost daily, violent Israeli settlers attack Palestinian homes, torching houses, driving people out, evicting them, and demolishing their properties. This is a clear violation of international military law, which requires that the population in an occupied territory be protected by the occupying power (in this case, Israel),' the ex-EU envoy said. Israeli officials have condemned violent settlers but described them as isolated incidences rather than systemic. Among the proposals, the ex-EU envoys called for sanctioning of ministers that call for 'the eviction or the annihilation of the Palestinian people, or the complete eviction of people from Gaza, such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smodrich, Security Minister Itamar Ben-Mir, or Defence Minister Israel Katz,' Kühn von Burgsdorff said. 'We can also stop academic research and technological programmes we have established under the EU called Horizon Europe, where Israel has been a primary beneficiary for years now,' the ex-EU ambassadors proposed. EU diplomats on Monday failed to agree once again on a partial suspension of Israel from the Horizon Europe fund in response to the war in Gaza, several diplomats told Euronews. Gathered online for their regular Mashreq/Maghreb Working Party, the 27 EU diplomats couldn't reach a qualified majority on a European Commission proposal to cut Israel from partial access to the EU's €95 billion Horizon Europe research fund. The ex-EU envoy called the measure a 'relatively minor proposal that falls short', noting it only targets funding for Israeli SMEs, while leaving research, academic ties, trade with illegal settlements, and business relations with entities in those areas untouched
