Europe views Gaza through the mirror of the Mediterranean

BarcelonaA hush hung over the Pedralbes Palace in Barcelona this Friday before the meeting of foreign ministers of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). Since In mid-October, the peace plan sponsored by Donald Trump in Gaza was finalized., Europe has abandoned the forceful stance with which it condemned the genocide in Gaza last summer. And it buries its head in the sand while Israel violates the ceasefire in the enclave. But the ministerial meeting of the organization's 10th Regional Forum has held a mirror up to European foreign ministers and their counterparts in the southern Mediterranean basin, who have denounced Israel's impunity and called for a lasting political solution in the Gaza Strip.

Among the attendees were an Israeli representative and a Palestinian representative, in the only international body that can boast of seating both on equal footing. It was the first time since 2023 that Tel Aviv had been present at a UfM meeting. But it avoided sending its highest-ranking official invited, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who in September called Pedro Sánchez "anti-Semitic and a liar" after... The Spanish president called for Israel's expulsion from all sporting competitions.Instead, Dana Erlich, Israel's chargé d'affaires in Spain, attended. According to sources present at the meeting, she declined to speak and disapproved of the remarks regarding Gaza. This Friday's meeting was the tenth regional forum of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and was part of the 30th anniversary of the Barcelona Process. "Anniversaries are for reflection," noted the organization's Secretary General, Egyptian Nasse Kamel. And the realization was crystal clear: the Mediterranean of today bears no resemblance to that of three decades ago. Climate, war, geopolitical, and migration challenges have transformed this cradle of civilization into a graveyard. With these changes in mind, the leaders agreed on the need to develop a new strategy that takes into account the new needs and priorities. Thirty years ago, the representatives gathered in Barcelona sealed the pact speaking of dialogue, cooperation, democracy, and peace. Today, they have launched a new roadmap under a more pragmatic motto: "Connecting people, connecting countries, connecting economies."

"I wasn't born in the Mediterranean"

The High Representative of the European Union, Kaja Kallas, wanted to give a wink to the hosts and opened his speech with a quote from the Catalan singer Joan Manuel Serrat: "I was not born in the Mediterranean but in the Baltic Sea," he said. A confession that, ironically, illustrates the EU's defense and security prioritiesconcerned about how it protects its eastern border, including diplomatically. "We want the war [in Ukraine] to end, but how it ends matters," Kallas stressed, emphasizing that We must support Kiiv in negotiations with TrumpSince in the case of Ukraine it is clear that "we have an aggressor and a victim." However, the Estonian leader spoke about Gaza, admitting that the ceasefire remains "fragile" and, in a rare move, condemned settler violence in the West Bank: "These attacks must stop and those responsible must be brought to justice," she warned.

Jordanian Foreign Minister and co-chair of the organization, Ayman Safadi, took up Kallas's challenge and used the terms "aggressor" and "victim" to denounce Israel's use of the term and, incidentally, to highlight Brussels' double standard regarding the conflicts. Safadi recalled that "the rights of the Palestinians continue to be violated" on the other side of the Mediterranean and denounced the fact that, while the international community focuses on implementing the agreement, "humanitarian aid" that is accumulating in his country, awaiting Israel's permission, "is not reaching" the Gaza Strip.

The intervention of the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, was also forceful. He denounced that "the peace, stability, and security of the region are at stake," referring to Gaza, and emphasized that guaranteeing the stability of the Mediterranean depends on "making progress in building consensus." In this regard, he argued that spaces like this forum demonstrate that "dialogue and understanding are stronger than conflict." Albares asserted that "Barcelona is the diplomatic capital of the Mediterranean" and announced an increase in Spain's contribution to the organization. Simultaneously, he formalized an agreement with the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) to make Barcelona its permanent headquarters.

A seat for Al-Sharaa's Syria

Another new feature of the forum was the representation of Syria. It was the first time that the Foreign Minister had participated. of the government of Ahmed al-Sharaa She was attending a UfM summit, as representatives of Bashar al-Assad's regime had been barred. Coinciding with the attacks launched today by Israel against the Syrian town of Beit Jinn, the assembly reaffirmed its commitment to respecting international law amidst the crisis of multilateralism. It also celebrated the lessons that can be learned from Syria—Kallas cited as an example the weapons Russia tested on the country before using it for reconstruction efforts. The European Union used the occasion to showcase the launch of the new Pact for the Mediterranean. Brussels pledged to deploy more than 100 initiatives "that will benefit the people and the region," in the areas of energy security, telecommunications, and youth training to strengthen economies. "Young people must be able to choose their future before being forced to emigrate out of necessity," declared the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. And in this regard, the recently appointed European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, has emphasized the creation of a Mediterranean University and an Erasmus exchange program that should be extended to universities throughout the basin.