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The European Union remains divided when it comes to Gaza, Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas said after the informal meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers in Copenhagen, as per EuroNews.
Kallas said the division is negatively affecting the global credibility of the EU, and expressed disappointment about not being able to reach unity among ministers. "If you ask personally how that feels, that I'm the face that is to blame, that we don't have a decision, then it's hard. It's very hard," Kallas said, as quoted by EuroNews. "It's clear that member states disagree on how to get the Israeli government to change course. The options are clear and remain on the table. We have presented the options paper. But the problem is that not all EU member states are on board," Kallas added. Kallas said that member states still have no agreement on plan to suspend free trade with Israel as part of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Some countries expressed their opposition, including Germany and Hungary, while Denmark, currently holding the rotating presidency, signalled it would support the suspension. "If the majority is growing, then the division is not getting bigger, but it's actually getting smaller because the majority's growing. So it depends on how you look at it. But it is true that we still don't have an agreement on those measures," Kallas replied to a reporter's question. The Danish Foreign Minister, Lars Lkke Rasmussen, suggested that the EU could take certain steps in order to bypass the veto of some member states, as per EuroNews. "We have to work and think more innovatively about what could be the next best solutions. For instance, we want to put a ban on imports from the occupied territories. That's probably not doable. But then we could put a heavy tariff on imports, and we could do that by a qualified majority," the Danish Foreign Minister said. Rasmussen also rejected Israeli claims that limiting free trade with Israel would strengthen Hamas. "I think it is important that we challenge the false narratives. And I mean, we have absolutely no intention to strengthen Hamas, but the opposite," he said. Kallas said the EU was successfully putting pressure on Israel to provide humanitarian assistance in Gaza, resulting in more trucks entering the zone and more border crossings that have opened, as per EuroNews. Also at the meeting, the bloc adopted a document calling on the US to reverse the travel ban on the Palestinian delegation heading for the United Nations' General Assembly. (ANI)
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