Borrell disagrees with how the EU is handling the situations in the Middle East and Ukraine

Josep Borrell considered it “one of the most intense Foreign ministers’ Council of the last five years”. The meeting was divided into three main themes: the discussion on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and on global outreach, with the participation of Foreign Affairs Minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba; the exchange with Foreign Affairs Minister of Türkiye, Hakan Fidan, on the state of play of EU-Türkiye relations and regional and global issues of shared interest and the situation in the Middle East on the background of the latest escalation of tensions in the region and the ongoing negotiation efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, with the participation of UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag.

Call to action for the air defense systems in Ukraine

The gap between announcements on military assistance and actual delivery is a “frightening issue“, according to Minister Kuleba. “Every delay costs us. Whatever the reason for the delays, it is time to make decisions operational.’

In response, Borrell supported the minister, saying, “Kuleba is right: announcements are one thing, implementation is another. I will push states to deliver what they promised because better-equipped armed forces are key to winning the war”. To reach common ground, the goal is also to “plan a second peace summit“, a follow-up to the previous one that took place in Switzerland in June.

The spread of poliovirus

More importantly, another call for a ceasefire in the Middle East has been made to halt the spread of poliovirus, which is currently spreading in Gaza.

This time, the anger from High Representative Josep Borrell is palpable. He has expressed outrage at member states that maintain “taboos” when it comes to Israel. Borrell also condemned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for making “hateful remarks” that “clearly incite violations of humanitarian law”, referencing Smotrich’s advocacy for starving the population in Gaza.

Poliovirus, which was eradicated in Gaza 25 years ago, has resurfaced. Due to this alarming development, Borrell is urging the EU ‘to join the call by the United Nations Secretary-General and the World Health Organization for immediate humanitarian pauses in Gaza to allow for the polio vaccination campaign to take place,’ emphasizing the increasing urgency of the situation.

“Two rounds of the campaign are expected to be rolled out in the Strip in the coming weeks in collaboration with the World Health Organization and UNICEF, providing two drops of novel oral polio vaccine type 2 to more than 640,000 children under ten years of age”, Borrell said during the press conference, discussing the vaccination efforts.

UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag also joined the discussion to debrief Ministers on the humanitarian situation on the ground.