EU should use ‘all means’ to end war in Gaza: Belgian minister

The EU should use “all means” possible to end the violence in Gaza, including sanctions (if necessary), a peace conference, and a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, Belgian development minister Caroline Gennez (Vooruit/S&D) told EUobserver in an interview on Tuesday (9 April).

The bloc is Israel’s biggest trading partner — in 2022 alone, total trade in goods under the EU-Israel association agreement amounted to €46.8bn.

However, only the leaders of Spain and Ireland, back in mid-February, have so far asked the EU Commission for an urgent review of the EU-Israel trade deal over human rights concerns, in order to use it as leverage in light of a likely Rafah military operation — as yet to no avail.

“It’s clear, according to my judgment, that the human rights clause is not respected at the moment. So it would be only logical that the commission looks into the respect of the association agreement,” Gennez said, stressing she thinks Belgium should support the call made by Ireland and Spain.

“But there we need unanimity in Europe, and it’s not there,” she added.

In March, the EU-27 managed to jointly call for an “immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire” at their summit in Brussels, but the bloc continues to struggle to find consensus on the Israel-Gaza war.

“It’s always best when the EU talks with one voice, and it was possible and has been possible throughout the last couple of years in Ukraine, and it’s not the case in the Gaza-Israel conflict,” Gennez said.