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Germany must come up with “measures” and “bring alternatives” to break the EU’s deadlock on Gaza, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in an exclusive interview with Euronews.
Kallas spoke as Israel toughened its military campaign in Gaza and launched a ground offensive on Tuesday. She also spoke a week after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced during her State of the Union speech that she would propose to suspend its “bilateral support” with Israel and partially suspend the trade parts of the EU-Israel association agreement.
To make good on von der Leyen’s announcement, Kallas told Euronews that the commission would propose on Wednesday to reimpose duties on Israeli goods in response to the war in Gaza and ongoing violations in the West Bank.
But suspending trade with Israel would require a qualified majority vote, and Germany leads the front of European countries opposing sanctions on the Jewish state, owing to the role it played in the Holocaust.
Asked how she would convince the German government to slap duties on Israel, Kallas said, “If you agree on the diagnosis that the situation is extremely grave, the situation is disastrous and untenable, then the question is what do we do about this?”
“If you don’t support these measures, then what measures can you support? Bring alternatives.”
“So if Germany had agreed to something a couple of years ago or agrees now, then it would actually put pressure on Israel and the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank may not be as grave as it is now;” Kallas continued.
She noted that Germany, under the pressure of its public opinion, had begun to shift its stance by halting arms exports to Israel, saying it is “a significant step”.
Italy and the Czech Republic are also part of the EU countries which oppose sanctions against Israel.
In July, Kallas presented a set of 10 options in response to Israel’s actions in Gaza, including suspension of trade preferences with Israel and blocking imports from Jewish settlements.
The Commission also proposed to partially suspend the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.
But Germany and Italy have opposed those moves.
