Political dialogue with Israel must continue, EU Member States claim

EU Member States dismissed the EU High Representative’s plea to suspend the political dialogue with Israel in the framework of the Association Council as a countermeasure for the international humanitarian law violation reported by UN organizations in Gaza and the West Bank.

“Most of the Member States consider that it was much better to continue having a diplomatic and political relationship with Israel, so the decision was not taken into consideration as expected,” Borrell stated in a press conference.

“At least I put on the table all the information produced by United Nations organizations and every international organization working in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank and Lebanon to judge how the war is being waged,” he said to dampen his dismay. When consulted on the matter, a European diplomat said there was not much debate during the on-camera meeting.

The scope of the sanctions against Iran for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) sold to Russia was widened. Additional measures were adopted to target the use of vessels and ports for the transfer of drones, missiles, and related technologies and components. Ministers agreed on the prohibition of exporting, transferring, supplying, or selling components from the EU to Iran for the development and production of missiles and UAVs.

They also introduced a transaction ban prohibiting any transaction with ports and locks owned, operated, or controlled by listed individuals and entities or used to transfer Iranian drones, missiles, or related technology and components to Russia. This measure includes the access to facilities of the ports and locks, such as Amirabad and Anzali, a press release further specifies. This will be made except for vessels needing assistance for maritime safety, humanitarian purposes, or events likely to severely impact human health and safety or the environment.

The Foreign Affairs ministers did not manage to react unanimously to Joe Biden‘s US administration’s green light to Ukraine to hit strategic military sites in Russian territory up to a maximum distance of 300 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. “Ukrainians should be able to use the arms we provide to them not only to stop the arrows but also to be able to hit the archers,” Borrell told journalists. “Three hundred kilometers is less than nothing; it does not seem to me a spectacularly deep distance,” Borrell further stressed. “I do not know why Biden has decided on this now and not before the elections, but I supported the decision taken by the American administration; it seems reasonable to me,” Borrell thought out loud.

On Wednesday, the foreign affairs ministers of Poland, France, and Germany — the countries of the Weimar Triangle — met with the Italian and English homologs. Poland Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told a journalist that the objective is to welcome the US decision on the use of weapons delivered to Ukraine against military targets in Russia. The Italian government is still opposing it and pushing for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

No deal was struck on the use of Ukraine weapons hitting targets located in Russia. Sikorski however announced at the end of the meeting that a landmark agreement was reached on the need for European defence bonds. In a final statement Ministers pledged to use “all levers” at their disposal, “including the economic and financial power of the European Union” to strengthen security and defence in the EU

Ministers lastly supported the High Representative initiative to send a political mission to Georgia to carefully study what happened in the context of the parliamentary elections in Georgia on October 26th. “Georgia cannot move forward in its relationship with the European Union and will not be able to advance on the European path without strong changes,” Borrell further said in the end-of-work press conference.

European defence ministers gathered on Wednesday in Brussels and found that total defence expenditure in the EU is expected to reach overall 1.9% compared to GDP level in 2024. The figures were summoned in the report ‘Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (Card) 2024’ – the EU’s ‘State of the Union’ submitted by the European Defence Agency. EU member states are closing the gap to NATO’s guiding target of two per cent.

This was possible, the paper explains, thanks to an increase of more than 30% in defence spending compared to 2021. Defence spending in 2024 is expected to reach 326 billion euro, exceeding previous projections. In 2024, Member States are also expected to spend more than EUR 100 billion on investment, exceeding the agreed target of 20 per cent on defence, in line with the commitment under the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO).

Ten member states committed to allocate more than 30% of their total defence spending to investment, where the benchmark is 20%. Investment in research, development and procurement of new defence capabilities is expected to increase from around 59 billion euro in 2021 to 102 billion in 2024.