Four European commissioners have written to civil servants saying the “catastrophic” and “unbearable” situation in Gaza is at the top of their institution’s political agenda.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic and the level of suffering remains unbearable. Urgent action is needed, and this is the primary focus of the Commission,” wrote Spain’s Teresa Ribera, Slovenia’s Marta Kos, Ireland’s Michael McGrath and Belgium’s Hadja Lahbib in a letter obtained by Euractiv.
All four of the EU officials were nominated by governments that are pushing the bloc to put more pressure on Israel to ease the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, where Israel is continuing its war against Hamas.
Having determined that Israel was in breach of its human rights commitments in its Association Agreement with Brussels, the Commission proposed part suspending Israeli companies from the Horizon research program. But that measure has not yet been taken because of opposition from Germany and Italy.
EU countries remained divided on the topic at a meeting of foreign ministers in Copenhagen this past weekend.
“Gaza is, and will stay, at the top of our agenda,” the four commissioners wrote. “Now more than ever, we need unity and action based on our European values. Europe was built in moments of difficulty, and it is by standing together in such moments that we grow stronger.”
Their letter, dated 28 August, was a reply to a missive signed by 1,750 civil servants across various European institutions, which urged the Commission to take “bold and principled action now”, and use its leverage as Israel’s largest trading partner to ensure the country complies with international humanitarian law. Some EU civil servants have even talked about potential strike action.
Commissioners will meet on Wednesday in Brussels. Ribera, who is in charge of climate change and competition policy, recently said she and other commissioners want their institution to propose further sanctions against Israel.
She has also been increasingly vocal this summer on social media platform Bluesky, writing: “It’s our duty to stop this madness and to ensure justice and transparency.”
In another post, Ribera quoted an opinion piece by Nicaraguan poet Gioconda Belli in Spanish newspaper El País: “How is it possible that the same people that carries the Holocaust in its memory has lost its compassion in such a monstrous way?”
(vib)
