The European Union remains divided in regards to Gaza, senior EU official Kaja Karas said after an informal meeting of the Bloc’s foreign minister in Copenhagen.
Karas said the sector has had a negative impact on the EU’s global credibility and expressed disappointment that it has not reached unity among the ministers.
“If you personally ask how it feels, the face I take responsibility for, that we haven’t made a decision, that it’s very difficult, then that’s very difficult,” Karas said.
“It is clear that member states do not agree with the Israeli government how to change courses. The options are clear and remain on the table. We have presented options paper. But the problem is that not all EU countries are on board,” added Karas.
The diplomat said the member states have not yet agreed on a plan to suspend free trade with Israel as part of the EU-Israel Association agreement. Some countries, including Germany and Hungary, have expressed opposition, but Denmark currently has a rotating presidency, indicating that it supports a halt.
“If the majority are growing, the sector isn’t growing, but the majority are growing, so it’s actually smaller. So it depends on how you see it. But it’s true that we haven’t agreed to those measures yet,” Karas responded to a reporter’s question.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rocke Rasmussen suggested that the EU could take certain measures to bypass the veto power of some member states.
“We must work hard and think more innovatively about what could be the next best solution. For example, we want to ban imports from occupied areas. That’s probably not possible. But we can impose heavy tariffs on imports and do so by a qualified majority.”
Rasmussen also rejected Israel’s claim that Hamas would be strengthened by limiting free trade with Israel.
“I think it’s important to challenge the false narrative, and we’re not going to strengthen Hamas, but we have absolutely no intention of opposing it,” he said.
Karas said the EU is putting pressure on Israel to provide humanitarian assistance in Gaza, resulting in more trucks entering the zone and more cross-border intersections being opened.
At the conference, the Bullock also adopted a document calling on the US to reverse the travel ban on Palestinian delegations heading towards the UN General Assembly.
New sanctions could target Russian-related codes
Karas also spoke about the European Union exploring options for sanctioning crypto markets that are helping to bypass Russia’s sanctions.
The bloc is set to present new sanctions against Russia next week in response to the rise in Moscow’s bombings on civilian targets in Ukraine.
On Thursday, 25 people died in the Russian strike against Kiev, including several children. The attack also destroyed EU representatives and the British Council buildings. Karas said the EU measures reflect previous sanctions imposed by the UK and could target cryptographic networks used to bypass financial sanctions against Russia.
“There were a lot of other ideas on the table, such as funding for institutions and how my UK colleagues mentioned what they were doing, and we look into those possibilities.
The UK has, among other things, transferred around 8 billion euros in recent months, targeting the Ruble-backed cryptocurrency token A7A5 set up in Kyrgyzstan. The Luxembourg-based company was also on the list.
Other elements of the EU’s 19th sanctions package include restrictions on oil and gas imports, secondary sanctions on Russian trading partners, and restrictions on Russia’s so-called shadow fleet involved in diverting oil sanctions.
The EU moves to minimize risk when it comes to frozen assets
The Foreign Minister’s Copenhagen Conference was held in the form of a so-called gymnasium. This means that although no decisions were made at informal meetings, discussions could set the direction for future talks.
Finally, the Minister also discussed the issue of Russia’s frozen assets. Karas has repeatedly said that Russia cannot recover its frozen assets of 2210 billion euros without paying compensation to Ukraine.
However, Member States have been split over the possibility of confiscating those assets. Belgium, which holds the largest amount of assets, opposed the move, fearing legal consequences.
According to Karas, the EU minimises the potential risks of member states and possibly share some of the risks Belgium is taking on this issue.