At the EU summit, there was again no call for a "ceasefire in Gaza"
At the EU summit, there was again no call for a "ceasefire in Gaza"
The leaders of the European Union (EU) failed to reach consensus on a call for a ceasefire in Gaza at their third meeting after October 7.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, held a press conference following the two-day summit of EU leaders in Brussels.
Michel noted that one of the most important items on the agenda of the meeting is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Stating that there are different views among some Member states on a pause in hostilities, Michel said: "Some of them want a 'humanitarian pause' and some want a 'humanitarian ceasefire'. Nevertheless, Michel noted that the commitment to humanitarian assistance and the political process aimed at a two-State solution had been agreed upon by all leaders.
Thus, after October 7, the EU leaders, who met first at an extraordinary summit on October 17, and then at another summit on October 26-27, could not agree on a ceasefire for the third time.
"The overwhelming majority is in favor of a cease-fire"
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told reporters after the summit that the call for a ceasefire in Gaza, which was demanded by the overwhelming majority, could not be made due to a lack of consensus.
Varadkar said, "My point of view and the opinion of others was this; if we couldn't agree on a cease-fire call, then there was no point in offering any kind of temporary cease-fire or a temporary pause. The position of the overwhelming majority of EU countries is that there should be a ceasefire at the moment."
EU countries Austria and the Czech Republic voted against a draft resolution demanding an urgent humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip at the United Nations General Assembly on December 12.
Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Hungary, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia "abstained".