Spain has encountered in the Council of Foreign Affairs room the rejection of “the big fish” to its proposal to break the association agreement with Israel. A move by the minister in charge, José Manuel Albares, which sought to focus on the violation of Human Rights in the region of Lebanon, beyond achieving the advancement of a proposal that was born practically failed this Tuesday.
More specifically, capitals like Berlin and Rome have ruled out that the conditions are met for the European Union to make use of Article Two of the treaty that governs the relationship between the community bloc and the country of Benjamín Netanyahu. A clause negotiated in the time of Commissioner Manuel Marín and to which the Spanish Government resorted, alleging the escalation of tension in the Middle East. On the other hand, states like Belgium have shown their predisposition to study the freezing of the commercial part of the bilateral relationship.
Diplomatic tension with Israel
This diplomatic game driven by La Moncloa has once again raised tensions with Tel Aviv. A situation that has reached the point where, in exclusive statements to Demócrata, Israel's ambassador to Spain, Dana Erlich, states that Pedro Sánchez's government “adopts an extreme, biased, and partial position of reality that distances it from its European partners”.
“I do not believe that blocking a trade deal is a useful tool”, indicated the head of Foreign Affairs of the government of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, Antonio Tajani. Even though, up to now, it has been one of the most critical European administrations of Netanyahu's attacks on the region, to the point of confirming that they will not renew the Defense coordination agreement with Israel. Thus, Germany's stance, which pointed out that the measure could be “inappropriate” at the current time, also does not surprise.
Brussels notes lack of consensus
It has been the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, who has confirmed the lack of support for the proposal led by the Spanish team regarding that rupture of the association with Israel. “Given that it requires unanimity, we note that there is no support in the room”, explained the high representative. However, other options remain alive, such as trade measures that require a qualified majority, which for the moment is not met.
Kallas assures that the debate “will continue”, despite not having noted a change in positions in the room regarding the suspension of the agreement in its political part. In the coming days, the vice president will transfer the commercial issue to the European Commission officials to analyze what further steps can be taken legally. Diplomatic sources indicate that it is more realistic for Europeans to opt for measures such as the suspension of tariff preferences, the restriction of imports, or the tightening of commercial conditions, which would not require unanimity. Of course, Brussels would have to return to its usual balances: it is necessary to justify these measures so that they do not appear to be political sanctions, which could facilitate the support of countries closer to Israel.
Albares' move
Upon his arrival at Tuesday's meeting, Albares has increased pressure on his partners by stating that “Europe is playing with its credibility”. With these words, he has wanted to place the debate on a plane not only political, but also moral, appealing to the coherence of the European Union in matters of human rights and foreign policy. Despite the complexity of the matter, Spain did not want to desist in its diplomatic strategy.
As Albares himself has explained, the situation has worsened significantly since September, when, in the context of the war in Gaza, the Spanish Government already put forward this initiative to the European Commission. At that time, the proposal did not move forward, but the Executive considers that the current deterioration of the international scenario justifies reopening the debate with greater urgency. “The situation is more serious than in September”, the minister stressed, who says he observes “how tension is maintained in Gaza, pressure continues in the West Bank, and the seriousness of the situation in Lebanon has increased”.