In an interview on Euronews’ flagship programme, MEP Marc Botenga (The Left, Belgium) welcomed the two-week ceasefire agreed between the US and Iran, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement mere hours before the expiration of his ultimatum to Tehran.
Yet Botenga was highly critical of the EU’s response to the crisis, telling Euronews’ flagship morning show Europe Today that the EU’s position had been “horrible”.
“The European Union has done nothing, no diplomatic efforts whatsoever for a crisis that not only is violating human rights, is violating international law, but was also violating our interests,” said Botenga.
The two-week ceasefire was announced by Trump on his Truth Social platform overnight on Wednesday. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted the ceasefire and would negotiate with the US in Islamabad beginning Friday.
“They (the EU) should have condemned the war. They should have condemned the war crimes,” Botenga said.
The truce comes after Trump ramped up his threats on Tuesday, saying a “whole civilisation will die” if there was no deal with Iran.
According to Botenga, the EU should have condemned the “genocidal rhetoric” used by Trump and failed to identify the true victims of the conflict. “They’ve been speaking about Iran attacking its neighbours rather than Iran being a victim, so we’ve mixed this up,” said Botenga.
Iran has been launching daily barrages of missiles and drones on its neighbours since the beginning of the war on 28 February.
While Tehran claims it is targeting only US and Israeli-linked assets, official reports and Euronews reporters on the ground have shown Tehran has struck civilian targets across the Gulf, including hotels and energy and water-processing facilities.
The strongest response from an EU leader to Trump’s threats came from European Council President António Costa, who warned on Monday that striking civilian infrastructure, like energy facilities, would be “illegal and unacceptable”.
Meanwhile on Tuesday a spokesperson for the European Commission urged Trump to act with “maximum restraint”.
In a message on X after the announcement, the EU’s High Representative Kaja Kallas said this ceasefire is “a step back from the brink”.
The ceasefire does not include Lebanon, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed. For Botenga, Israel has been “ethnically cleansing the south of Lebanon”.
“Why are we silent? Why are our top officials not condemning this? Why we are not taking sanctions?” asked Botenga.
In Lebanon, Israel has been engaged in a campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, who launched what they said was a retaliatory campaign against Israel following the death of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli bombardment on day one of the war.