The European Union’s position on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, as on all foreign policy issues, was expressed by the High Representative and the President of the European Council. The EU’s foreign policy position is determined and decided by the member states and the Council. The rest, with all due respect for personal opinions, which can be completely legitimate, does not reflect the position of the EU.” The shock comes from a high-ranking EU official and concerns the speech given by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the Hudson Institute in Washington. “Only the declaration of the European Council, drawn up by the Heads of State and Government on behalf of the Member States, represents the Union’s position,” underlines the same source, specifically mentioning in this declaration “the resumption of the peace process as the only possible one.” Solution to this problem.
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The president’s speech at the Hudson Institute makes no mention of the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian question or the need to restart the peace process. Von der Leyen’s trip to Israel with Roberta Metsola had already caused quite a stir, which was seen as an encroachment on the Commission President’s field. The leader of the EPP and group leader in Parliament, Manfred Weber, defended von der Leyen’s choice, recalling that the European Council had taken “ten days” to meet via video conference and talk about the situation in the Middle East, stressing that This was the case. While the crisis was developing, the High Representative was on a mission to China.
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The source noted that it is very “uncomfortable” that a “terrorist act” like the Hamas attack has “political consequences” because it is the “response” to the terrorist act “that produces political consequences.” The EU “continues to push for a sustainable peace based on a two-state solution” through new “efforts” to “relaunch the Middle East peace process,” which is “exactly what the 27 states and heads of government have said.” The deep divide between the various EU bodies is becoming increasingly clear.
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