The disastrous humanitarian situation facing the population of Gaza remains at the center of the concerns of European and international diplomats. Minister of Foreign Affairs Baerbock I will brief her EU I would like to speak to my colleagues today about his talks and the results of his trip to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian territories (West Bank) and Israel. One of the issues on the agenda will be how to ensure a reliable supply of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza. Additionally, there will be a discussion on what the medium to long term future of the civilian population of the Gaza Strip might look like. Minister of Foreign Affairs Baerbock and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken proposed a solution to this effect on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers meeting. THE EU continues to promote lasting and viable peace based on the two-State solution. This is the only way to guarantee Israelis and Palestinians the prospect of living side by side – in two states and in peace, security and dignity:
Minister of Foreign Affairs Baerbock issued the following statement after the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Tokyo (November 8):
When we think beyond today, in order to offer prospects for a two-state solution and for Gaza, we must set a clear course: first, this means that Gaza must not be able to constitute a terrorist threat to Israel’s security in the future. Second, it means that Palestinians must not be driven out of Gaza. Third, it means that Gaza should not be occupied, but ideally placed under international protection. Fourth, it means that we should not seek to reduce the territory of Gaza. And fifth, it means that no solution can be decided over the heads of the Palestinian people and that the whole issue must be approached with the knowledge that the people of Israel and Palestine all have the right to finally live in peace and safe in the future. .
Other important questions for the EU: Ukraine, the Western Balkans and the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan
Also on the agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council are the situation in Ukraine and the situation in the EU and its member states’ continued support for the country in light of Russia’s war of aggression. As winter approaches, a crucial task is to protect critical energy and heating infrastructure. On his way to EU As a member, Ukraine initiated significant reforms, including legislation on media and oligarchs.
The German government stands resolutely alongside the Ukrainians on the path to membership of the European Union. Minister of Foreign Affairs Baerbock commented on the European Commission’s recommendation to start accession negotiations with Ukraine: “The Ukrainian people are part of the European family. The beginning of EU accession negotiations are the next step we should take together. For a stronger, bigger and united world EU is the geopolitical response to Russia’s war of aggression” (November 8).
In the afternoon, the EU The foreign ministers will have an exchange in Brussels with their counterparts from the six Western Balkan countries: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The six countries are heading towards EU membership. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has accelerated the region’s movement towards EU a geopolitical necessity. Progress on the road to EU membership is essential and will require reforms in the candidate countries, as well as unity and cohesion within the EU. What’s more, the EU must implement reforms to prepare for the time when it will have more than 30 Member States.
The latent conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be another item on the agenda in Brussels. After the Azerbaijani military operation a few weeks ago in Nagorno-Karabakh, which belongs to Azerbaijan according to international law, a large part of the local population fled to Armenia – more than 100,000 people, according to the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR. THE EU has a civilian mission on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Minister of Foreign Affairs Baerbock will inform her colleagues about her trip to Armenia and Azerbaijan, during which she also visited the EU monitoring mission. It observes the situation on the ground and contributes to the stabilization of Armenia’s border regions – an essential precondition for launching a peace plan and normalizing relations between the two countries.