The European Commission plans to present a package of proposals on July 13 to the foreign ministers of the 27 member states "in light of the deterioration" of the situation in Israel's illegal settlements in the West Bank, after a large group of member states formally asked the Community Executive to put concrete initiatives on the table.
This is stated in the conclusions of the European Council held this Friday in Brussels, where the leaders of the European Union "take note" of the Commission's "intention" to "present options" before the next Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) "in light of the further deterioration of the situation regarding illegal settlements."
The President of the European Council, António Costa, also expressed his "satisfaction" with the commitment of Ursula von der Leyen's Executive. In a joint appearance with the German conservative leader, he once again welcomed "the intention" to "present options" to the member states in the face of the "dramatic situation" in the West Bank.
"We must not forget the dramatic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the conditions in the West Bank, and I welcome the Commission's intention to present options before the next meeting of Foreign Ministers," said the Portuguese socialist leader.
The announcement that the Commission will detail measures against settlements in the West Bank comes after the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, conveyed to the College of Commissioners this Tuesday the demand from a group of countries – including Spain, Ireland, and France – who called for concrete steps to veto trade with the settlements.
That same Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Community Executive avoided clarifying whether the Commission was already preparing the response to the request presented by Kallas and made the presentation of new measures conditional on "continuing the conversations" among leaders during this European Council and at the recent G7 summit in Évian (France), in order to ascertain "what conclusions they yielded."
Condemnation of the treatment of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition
Another of the central elements of the conclusions approved by the leaders of the European Union is the condemnation of the "mistreatment" suffered by those detained, including European citizens, after the interception of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition in international waters.
The Heads of State and Government of the Twenty-Seven have also censured "the behavior" of "extremist ministers" --without expressly mentioning that they are members of the Government of Israel-- "who incite and promote human rights violations".
"The European Council takes note that the Council (States) will continue to examine measures in this regard," the document further states, referring to the ongoing debate among the Twenty-Seven on the possibility of sanctioning the ministers of National Security and Finance, Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, respectively.