MEPs from the PSD and CDS-PP praised the visit of the President of the European Commission to Israel last Friday, days after the attack by the Islamist group Hamas, while parties on the left criticized the initiative, saying it was an “institutional dent” caused. .
Ursula Von der Leyen’s trip to Israel on the 11th and her failure to immediately call for a response from Tel Aviv within the bounds of international humanitarian law have led to criticism of the President of the European Commission, who is accused of taking a partial position on the conflict and of going beyond his functions, which do not include conducting foreign policy.
Social Democratic MEP Paulo Rangel disagrees with this criticism: “He had an absolutely impeccable attitude,” he told Lusa on the sidelines of the European Parliament’s plenary session, which took place this week in Strasbourg, France.
“There is an attempt at political exploitation, on the one hand, internally in some countries, on the other hand, of European institutions, where we are trying to make some noise here”said the elected member of the PSD, who belongs to the European People’s Party (PPE), the same political family as Von der Leyen.
‘First of all, we must show solidarity’ towards Israel, for the attack by Hamas on October 7, and for “exposing the terrible crimes” of Hamas. “After that we have to do pedagogy”considered Rangel.
The MEP, on the other hand, criticized the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, for continuing a visit to China “where Mr Putin was” “in the face of such an emergency”.
Paulo Rangel pointed the finger at a “truly dysfunctional” moment when the Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy, Hungarian Oliver Varhelyi, announced the suspension of all economic and financial support to the Palestinian people, information that was validated by the votes of the European Commission , but subsequently contradicted by the Commission itself and the Commissioner for Crisis Management.
For the CDS-PP, Nuno Melo rejects that there is “a cacophony”: the European Union (EU) “is united in condemning Hamas”. Von der Leyen’s journey, by “giving a dimension to the EU’s presence in Israel, is a positive fact”.
“The European Union is a very relevant key player, it has helped the Palestinians a lot, from a financial point of view (…) and has also called for proportionality” in the response of Israel, which is “a democratic state”.
The centrist delegate, also part of the PPE, attributed some discrepancies in positions to “political and party demonstrations”, also as the European elections approach in June next year.
Socialist Pedro Marques (Socialists and Democrats Group – S&D) believes that Europe has “lost the opportunity to make a good first impression”.
There were contradictions between commissioners “a very bad episode with many international repercussions”.
“The statements made by the President of the Commission were not the happiest because they were not balanced and did not reflect the position that the European Union had already taken. It was not a good moment.”he wailed.
The European Union “There has been no response whatsoever, mainly because Ursula Von der Leyen had a series of initiatives and a speech that are not even mentioned in the resolutions” of the 27 he criticized the blocker José Gusmão (Grupo da Esquerda).
For the BE MEP, Von der Leyen acted “in an absolutely deplorable manner”, causing “an institutional dent”.
Communist João Pimenta Lopes (left) points out contradictions in the discourse of the European institutions and condemns “hypocrisy and a double standard approach”.
Despite the official position of defending the two states – Israel and Palestine – the MEP denounces the “decades-long conspiracy with the occupation policy against the Palestinian people”.
‘It is clear that the European Union has not spoken with one voice’considered the independent deputy Francisco Guerreiro (Group of the Greens), which he attributed to the “very strong lobby of Israeli diplomacy.
However, the elected official believes that “it is not too late” for the EU to make efforts to “move towards a two-state solution”.
“Also because it concerns human lives,” he emphasized.
Source: DN
