This week, Hungary defied Brussels and refusing to back a joint EU declaration on the Israeli-Palestine conflict. The bland EU statement calling for an end to the violence was underwhelming in itself – but with Hungary rejecting the bloc’s ‘one-sided’ approach, Brussels has been left embarrassed by its inability to coordinate a unanimous response to the fighting.
The proposed statement from the bloc’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell read, ‘the priority is the cessation of all violence and the implementation of a ceasefire’, and said that:
‘we support the right to defence for Israel and the right to security – also for the Palestinians – and we consider that security for Israel and Palestine requires a true political solution’.
The EU’s problem runs much deeper than a single rogue member state
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto justified Hungary’s decision not to back the declaration by citing ‘a general problem with European statements on Israel’, which he claimed ‘do not help, especially in the current circumstances, when the tensions are so high’.
Hungary’s support for Israel comes as no surprise.
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