Von der Leyen raises the tone against Israel and proposes sanctions for the first time.

Brussels / StrasbourgInternal pressure on Brussels to finally impose sanctions on Benjamin Netanyahu's government has been growing, to the point of being unsustainable for the President of the European Commission. Years after the Israeli offensive against Gaza, Ursula von der Leyen—one of the most pro-Israel voices in the European Union—finally took the step and announced this Tuesday in the European Parliament that she will propose a battery of sanctions against Tel Aviv. The package of restrictions will include a "partial suspension" of the EU's Association Agreement with Israel and the blacklisting of Israel's "most radical" ministers and violent settlers in the West Bank. "What is happening in Gaza is unacceptable," the President of the European Commission remarked, sounding harsher than usual against the Israeli government.

This is the first time that von der Leyen has put sanctions of this magnitude on the table against Netanyahu. So far, the EU has only frozen a portion of the European Horizon funds for scientific research and innovation that benefit Israel. However, Brussels and the Member States have consistently opposed suspending the EU Association Agreement with Tel Aviv, which establishes a priority framework for trade and political dialogue in Israel. The European bloc is Israel's top trading partner and supplies around 30% of its imported weapons, giving Brussels significant leverage to exert pressure against Netanyahu by imposing these types of restrictions. In any case, Von der Leyen has not mentioned any type of arms embargo on the Israeli army, which has already killed more than 65,000 Palestinians since October 7, 2023.

for the EU to apply sanctions against Israel, but it is not definitive. This is a measure that requires the approval of the Member States, which remain divided over the Gaza war. "I am aware that it will be difficult to gain majorities," the EU leader admitted. One of the countries that has historically opposed any sanctions against Netanyahu is his own, Germany. However, even Berlin has changed its tone in recent months regarding Israel's inhumane offensive against the Palestinians and is showing signs of fatigue with the Israeli government.

"Europe must fight"

The German conservative, dressed in military green, also sent a clear message to Europeans regarding the war in Ukraine and the danger posed by Vladimir Putin's regime's expansionism via the EU blog. "Europe is fighting. [...] Europe must fight," she warned in her State of the Union address at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, which kicks off the political year in the European institutions. "The key question we must ask ourselves today is very simple: Does Europe have the courage to continue this fight? Do we have the necessary unity and sense of urgency? Or do we prefer to fight among ourselves, paralyzed by our divisions?" she added.

Putin has made von der Leyen's advisors overwork and make last-minute changes to their prepared speech. This morning, Poland was forced to shoot down several Russian drones that, according to Warsaw, had entered its airspace. The Commission President denounced Moscow's action, which she described as "reckless and unprecedented," and expressed "full solidarity" with the Polish government. According to Von der Leyen, the incident demonstrates, once again, Russia's unwillingness to end this war and pursue peaceful solutions to the conflict.

Von der Leyen has promised to improve surveillance of Europe's borders with Russia and build "an anti-drone wall." This is a request that Eastern European countries have long been making in Brussels. Tonight's incidents could precipitate her decision. The war in Ukraine is, above all, a drone war. "Europe will defend every inch of its territory," the President of the European Commission insisted.

"Putin's message is clear, and our response must be clear as well," insisted von der Leyen, who called for "intensified pressure" to force Russia to the negotiating table. This implies, she said, "more sanctions" and continued firm support in Ukraine. These statements come at a time when the Donald Trump administration and von der Leyen are negotiating for the first time the application of restrictions against Moscow.

However, the German conservative lamented that "the images in Alaska [referring to the meeting between Trump and Putin, where the Russian president was received with a red carpet] were not easy to digest." Von der Leyen once again insisted that, given this situation, it is necessary for the EU to achieve greater autonomy, especially in military matters. Now, he has once again linked it to the future of NATO, which remains completely controlled by the United States, which is increasingly ignoring Europe's security and interests.