EU’s Gaza Paralysis Erodes Its Credibility and Values

Credit: alliance/Anadolu/Moiz Salhi

The EU likes to think of itself as a normative power — a community of values committed to upholding international law, promoting peace, protecting civilians, and building a rules-based global order. These are not just lofty ideals; they are enshrined in EU treaties, declarations, and Council conclusions.

But when it comes to the brutal, drawn-out destruction of Gaza and the continued illegal occupation of Palestine, these principles seem to have become hollow rhetoric. Worse, they are being actively undermined by the craven inaction of the EU’s institutions and the obstruction of governments such as Germany, Italy, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

The European Commission has been shamefully absent as well. Only under recent pressure from many Member States did it propose the most tepid of measures — asking the Foreign Affairs Council to suspend access for Israeli SMEs applying for financial support under the dual-use technology EIC Accelerator window of Horizon Europe.

Even this minor proposal has so far been blocked by several EU countries, including Germany and Italy, thereby once again failing to enforce the existing conditionality clauses of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which require respect for human rights and international law.

While hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians are being killed, maimed, starved, and displaced, the European Union dithers. The International Court of Justice has not only issued provisional measures against Israel because of the plausible risk of genocide in Gaza — orders the Netanyahu government has flatly ignored — but also declared that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful and constitutes the crime of segregation or apartheid.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The UN, human rights organisations, and most former senior Israeli military and intelligence officials have sounded the alarm about Israel’s catastrophic actions in Gaza and its dehumanising policies in the West Bank.

The time for hand-wringing and empty declarations is over. The EU has ample tools to pressure Israel to end its brutal war in Gaza, dismantle the occupation, and move towards a viable two-state solution, with an independent and democratic Palestinian state living side by side in peace with Israel.

If the EU cannot muster the political will for collective action to apply EU-wide restrictive measures — such as suspending the Association Agreement, banning trade with Israel’s illegal settlements, applying sanctions on officials and commanders, halting arms supplies, or suspending Horizon Europe — then the moral, political, and legal burden falls on individual Member States.

Countries such as Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia have already taken encouraging steps by recognising the State of Palestine and demanding accountability for Israeli crimes. But much more is needed now. European countries that claim to support human rights and uphold international law must lead by example and act within their own prerogatives.

This can include unilaterally suspending or revoking arms export licences to Israel under national export control laws, including for dual-use equipment and technology.

With respect to Horizon Europe, any Member State can stop funding national co-financed projects involving Israeli entities or withdraw from joint research agreements with Israeli institutions. Universities and research bodies can also be instructed not to cooperate with certain Israeli institutions.

Moreover, Member States can impose their own national sanctions on human rights grounds, including visa bans and asset freezes. While the UK and some Nordic countries have such laws, others could use anti-money laundering or counterterrorism laws to freeze assets. States can also deny entry to individuals under national immigration law, as done by France and Slovenia.

While a comprehensive trade ban on settlements falls under exclusive EU competence, Member States can exclude settlement-linked companies from public procurement and state investment funds. State-owned enterprises or sovereign wealth funds can divest from settlement-linked companies, as Norway has done. National authorities can also ban port calls or airspace use for Israeli military vessels and aircraft.

Lastly, Member States with universal jurisdiction provisions — such as Germany, Spain, Belgium, France, and Sweden — can prosecute suspected Israeli and Palestinian war criminals if they enter their territory, or even in absentia in some cases. The Baltic countries and the Czech Republic can apply sanctions for human rights violations outside the EU’s global human rights framework. All Member States are obliged to support the ICC in arrest warrants and investigations.

In the absence of a collective EU response, individual countries should form coalitions of the willing to take matters into their own hands. This would not only bypass European spoilers but also create a critical mass of support within the EU and beyond, including in the Arab world and the wider Global South, in pursuit of enforcing international law.

Yet, the EU remains frozen — paralysed by the political obstruction of a few Member States and an indefensible unwillingness to confront Israel with meaningful consequences. This failure to act is not only a betrayal of the Palestinian people; it is a direct threat to Europe’s own credibility and standing in the world.

How can the EU expect to be taken seriously when it demands accountability for Russian war crimes in Ukraine while shielding Israel from any form of sanction, scrutiny, or effective pressure? This hypocrisy is not lost on the international community — particularly the Global South, where memories of colonialism and double standards run deep.

Europe’s image as a principled, reliable, rules-based actor is being destroyed not by autocratic Russia or China, but by its own refusal to enforce international law when the perpetrator is an ally.

At the heart of this disgraceful paralysis are governments that have chosen to side with impunity. While Germany undoubtedly has a historical responsibility to protect Jewish life and security, this does not justify placing the actions of the Israeli government above international law.

Under the problematic premise of unconditional support for Israel as part of Germany’s Staatsräson, Berlin has become the Israeli government’s chief enabler in Europe — delivering weapons, blocking EU measures, and silencing domestic dissent. It was only under growing public pressure — with two-thirds of Germans wanting effective measures against Israel — that on 8 August, Chancellor Merz announced the unprecedented step of temporarily halting the supply of weapons the IDF can use in Gaza. However, he later stressed that Germany would not support commercial sanctions against Israel.

If Germany were truly serious about securing Israel’s future and preventing another 7 October, it would work tirelessly to end the illegal occupation of Palestine and the ongoing military campaign in Gaza. Berlin could even help rescue the remaining Israeli hostages by pressuring Netanyahu to resume meaningful negotiations with Hamas — negotiations the Israeli Prime Minister abandoned in March — towards hostage release, a ceasefire, and large-scale humanitarian aid entry.

Germany is not alone in its lack of engagement. Under Meloni’s far-right government, Italy has become an echo chamber for the Israeli war narrative. Hungary and the Czech Republic, loyal to nationalist authoritarianism, have consistently obstructed EU consensus on Palestine.

Dr Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff is a diplomat who has been working in EU external relations since 1992. He has served as the EU’s official representative in various locations, including Jerusalem, and has been a senior adviser on mediation in the EU’s External Action Service.