State of the Union: EU struggles for the right Middle East policy

euronews (in English)

The crisis in the Middle East, the Franco-German vision for the next mandate and the upcoming EU elections were among the key topics discussed around Brussels this week.

Transcript

00:00Hello and welcome to State of the Union.

00:07I'm Stephan Grobe in Brussels.

00:09How to rein in the warring parties in the conflict between Israel and Hamas was once

00:15again on top of the EU diplomatic agenda this week.

00:19One proposal was to revive a European border assistance mission in the Gaza Strip.

00:25Another was a joint conference on how to implement a two-state solution.

00:30Another one was to review the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which regulates trade between the

00:36two sides.

00:38Meanwhile, despite decisions by two international courts, the violence continued.

00:44Decisions by the way that Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu criticized as new anti-Semitism,

00:50which prompted a sharp rebuke by the EU's foreign policy chief.

01:16Another top story this week was Emmanuel Macron's trip to Germany, the first state

01:21visit of a French president in 24 years.

01:25Macron enjoyed meeting ordinary people, posing for pictures and exchanging football jerseys

01:31with the German president.

01:35As if we needed a reminder that the Euro 24 kicks off in two weeks in Germany.

01:41His political messages were strongly pro-European, pro-French-German and anti-authoritarian,

01:49with Hungary's Viktor Orban clearly in mind.

01:52We must look around us at the fascination for authoritarian regimes, look at Europe,

01:59the illiberal moment we live in, where many look and say to themselves, finally, a few

02:06kilometres from here, finally, let's take the money from Europe, but forget the independence

02:15of the judges.

02:16Let's take the money from Europe, but forget the freedom of the press.

02:21Let's take the money from Europe, but forget the diversity of culture.

02:26Whether Macron's strong words will have an impact on the European elections next week

02:30remains to be seen.

02:32Polls suggest that Europe will tilt to the far right.

02:36Could this affect the EU foreign policy and diplomacy?

02:39Joining me now in our studio is Swen Biskup, political scientist at Ghent University and

02:45director of the Europe in the World program at the Egmont Royal Institute for International

02:50Relations in Brussels.

02:52Welcome to the program.

02:53Thank you.

02:54So, you're out with a new book on EU foreign policy called This is Not a New World Order.

03:01Europe rediscovers geopolitics from Ukraine to Taiwan.

03:05Tell us what exactly Europe has rediscovered.

03:09I think for a long time Europe forgot about geopolitics and then suddenly after the Russian

03:14invasion of Ukraine, we realised it's actually quite important to know where are the resources

03:21that I need to import, where are my export markets, where are my friends, where are my

03:24enemies, what are all the lines that connect them, because that creates specific vulnerabilities,

03:29so it's really key to know them.

03:31But maybe now we're overdoing it a little bit.

03:34Based on this, what role does Europe want to play?

03:37I remember in 2019 Ursula von der Leyen spoke about a geopolitical union.

03:44That's my point.

03:45I think it's really important that we know what our geopolitical situation is, but geopolitics

03:50is not strategy.

03:51You then still have to choose how you deal with these geopolitical problems.

03:57You try to solve them by going to war, you try to solve them by offering an association

04:03agreement.

04:04So my feeling is the EU lost the narrative a little bit.

04:07We say we want to be geopolitical, apparently meaning we want to be more assertive.

04:11I fully agree.

04:12But assertive for what purpose?

04:14Now governments come and go, but interests of countries never change.

04:19How about the EU?

04:20Did its interests change over the past five years?

04:23I don't think so.

04:25One of our main interests that we should not forget is to keep the world together.

04:30By that I mean avoid that the world falls apart again in two rival blocks that decouple

04:35from each other, because that would be an economic disaster for Europe in the first

04:39place.

04:40And I think it's important that we remember that if we can avoid it, we try to keep the

04:44world together, and it's definitely not in our interest to launch a new global confrontation

04:51or a new global Cold War.

04:53In just a few days, Europeans will go to the polls again.

04:57To what extent will the outcome of the election change the EU's foreign policy position?

05:03Very crucial is the composition of the European Parliament, because without a parliament you

05:07cannot make treaties.

05:10For example, China managed to antagonize the European Parliament entirely by sanctioning

05:16members of parliament.

05:18What would be the view of the new parliament on China?

05:21And will China be clever and say, well, those sanctions were against the previous parliament,

05:26we have a new parliament now, so we drop them?

05:28That would be my advice if China is serious about revamping the relationship.

05:33All right.

05:34Sven Biskup, political scientist and author of This Is Not a New World Order.

05:39Thanks for coming on the show today.

05:41Thank you.

05:42Now, before we go, here's a spectacular story from the art world.

05:48At Madrid's Prado Museum, a restored masterpiece by Italian Renaissance artist Caravaggio went

05:54on display to the public for the first time this week.

05:58Ecce Homo, Latin for Behold the Man, was thought to be lost until it resurfaced at an auction

06:04three years ago.

06:06The priceless painting was mistakenly attributed to an unknown artist and almost sold for 1,500

06:11euros when the Spanish government blocked the auction at the last minute on concerns

06:16it was actually a Caravaggio.

06:19The dark atmospheric canvas depicts a bloodstained Jesus wearing a crown of thorns, his hands

06:26tied just before his crucifixion.

06:29The painting was originally part of the private collection of the Spanish kings, then traded

06:34hands a lot, only to disappear from sight for almost 200 years.

06:40The new owner, whose identity was not revealed, was generous enough to lend it to the Prado

06:46for nine months, after reportedly buying the painting for 36 million euros.

06:54That's it for this edition.

06:55I'm Stefan Grober.

06:56Thank you for watching.

06:57Have an excellent week.

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