The European Union’s failure to sanction Israel over its military action in Gaza and Lebanon weakens the collective “credibility” and “legitimacy” to defend Ukraine against Russia’s full-scale invasion, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said.
“Something that is delegitimising us, not only in the eyes of the outside world but also in the eyes of our own societies, is this double standard, this double yardstick that Europe is using in Ukraine and the Middle East,” Sánchez said on Friday.
His warning comes a few days after Spain’s renewed push to terminate the EU-Israel Association Agreement in response to the deadly strikes against Lebanon was met with broad opposition from other EU member states. Germany and Italy, which are key to achieving the necessary qualified majority vote in favour of a partial suspension, remain on the fence.
Sánchez made the case to his fellow EU leaders during an informal summit in Cyprus, pointing to an internal review by Brussels that found Israel in breach of Article 2 of the Association Agreement, which imposes binding obligations to respect human rights.
The review was published last year in the context of Israel’s war on Gaza, which precipitated a devastating humanitarian crisis and led to several proposals to sanction Israel, none of which were ever approved by EU member states. It did not cover Lebanon.
“We cannot remain united in supporting, as we should be, a people (in Ukraine) subjected to an attempted invasion and a challenge to their territorial integrity, and fail to do the same in the Middle East. Especially when we are talking about Lebanon, Palestine, Gaza and the West Bank,” Sánchez said.
“Unfortunately, some governments are in favour, others are against,” he went on.
“There is no unity on this issue, and the result is a weakening of the European Union’s position, at least in terms of our political legitimacy and our credibility when it comes to defending fair causes like that of Ukraine.”
The Spanish premier said the EU was founded as a “peace project” and should therefore speak up to demand “respect for international law”.
“If we don’t, it becomes the law of the strongest, which is what we are witnessing. This leads to a weaker, much more insecure and more uncertain world,” he said, referring to the US-Israeli decision to strike Iran, which he has repeatedly denounced as “illegal”.
“In the end, that comes with a price in terms of lives, the displacement of refugees and, of course, the economic consequences that, unfortunately, all governments are now facing as a result of unilateral and illegal decisions made by third countries.”
Israel has long contested the Spanish criticism, arguing its military offensives in Gaza and Lebanon were designed to eliminate the threats posed by Hamas and Hezbollah, respectively, both of which are backed by Iran.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced that a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah had been extended by three weeks.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who also attended the summit in Cyprus, called on the EU to do more to safeguard Lebanon’s “peace, stability and sovereignty”.
European officials fear that a continued offensive against Lebanon would derail the government’s arduous efforts to disarm Hezbollah and trigger a migratory wave.