Middle East conflict: Germany does not want to agree to EU-Israel sanctions

Germany will not agree to planned EU sanctions against Israel for the time being. Foreign Minister Johann WadePhul explained that the Horizon Europe, proposed by the EU Commission, was a measure that would probably have no influence on the political will formation and the military approach of Israel in the Gaza Strip at an EU meeting in the Danish capital Copenhagen. That is why they are not so convinced of these proposals.

WadePhul pointed out that Germany restricts arms deliveries to Israel instead. “I think this is a very targeted measure that is very important and which is very necessary,” said the CDU politician. She meets the military commitment. The science cooperation, on the other hand, makes sense.

However, representatives of other EU countries expressed a clear lack of understanding of the rejection of the commission proposal. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said in Copenhagen that the EU could only shape its relationships with Israel on the basis of human rights. If there is massive injuries, as stated by the EU Commission, you have to act. In Gaza, thousands of Palestinians are exposed to death by a famine caused by Israel. “We speak of children, of babies. This is unacceptable,” he said.

The EU foreign commissioner Kaja Kallas also warned of the consequences of a failure of the “fairly mild” commission proposal. “If we are split, we have no uniform voice, and if we have no uniform voice, we have no voice on the global stage on this topic. This is definitely very problematic,” she said.

EU Commission sees blatant misconduct of Israel

At the end of July, the EU Commission had proposed to partially suspend Israel’s participation in the Horizon Europe research promotion program. This is intended to increase the pressure on the country to enable better humanitarian care for the needy people in the sealed -off Gaza Strip, where Israel fights Islamist Hamas. Israeli companies could lose access to grants in the millions by the punishment.

In detail, the sanction proposal for the time being to no longer participate in certain projects that are financed through the European Innovation Council (EIC). For example, start-ups and small companies that work in the field of cyber security, drones and artificial intelligence would be hit. The participation of Israeli universities and researchers in cooperation projects and research activities within the framework of Horizon remains unaffected by the proposed measure.

As a reason, the draft for the legal text states that Israel violates human rights and humanitarian international law with his approach in the Gaza Strip and the resulting humanitarian disaster. This violates an essential principle of cooperation between the EU and Israel in the context of the applicable association agreement. Thousands of civilian fatalities and a rapidly increasing number of cases of extreme malnutrition, especially in children, are also mentioned. Israel, on the other hand, defends his approach as a necessary reaction. Israel demands an release of all hostages. Another goal is to disempower and disarm the terrorist organization Hamas.

Does the domestic debate play a role?

Whether the EU Commission’s sanction proposal can be implemented depends on whether he receives the support of a so-called qualified majority in the Council of Member States. Specifically, 15 of the 27 EU countries would have to agree to represent at least 65 percent of the population of the participating Member States. In the end, only the support of Germany or Italy was missing. All other large EU countries and many smaller ones are for the punishment.

The EU Commission recently suspected that the intensive domestic discussion in Germany could also have an impact on the positioning of the federal government on the sanction proposal. Chancellor Friedrich Merz had recently been sharply criticized from his own ranks after he announced that Germany would no longer export armaments that could be used in the Gaza Strip. The CDU foreign politician Roderich Kiesewetter spoke of a “serious political and strategic mistake in Germany”.

Information from the Danish EU Council Presidency on the meeting