EU foreign ministers have failed to agree on sanctions against Israelâs far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, the blocâs foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says.
âMany member states have also proposed to sanction Minister Ben-Gvir, but no consensus on that was reached,â Kallas said.
âMinisters were clear today that Iran‘s actions are unacceptable,â said Kaja Kallas, high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice-president of the European Commission. âIn response, EU Member States in Brussels today approved sanctions against the Iranian individuals and entities involved in disrupting transit through the Strait of Hormuz. This is the first time the EU has applied its new freedom of navigation sanctions regime, and where necessary [it] will apply it again.â
BrĂŒssel/Caracas/Washington. Der EU-AuĂenbeauftragte Katja Kallas hat nach dem Angriff der USA und der EntfĂŒhrung von Venezuelas PrĂ€sident NicolĂĄs Maduro zur „ZurĂŒckhaltung“ aufgerufen. Die Oberste ReprĂ€sentantin der EU betonte, dass die EU wiederholt erklĂ€rt habe, Maduro fehle die LegitimitĂ€t, und er setze sich fĂŒr einen friedlichen Machtwechsel ein.
The EU has learned the decision to refuse and revoke entry visas for members of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization ahead of their participation in the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.
In light of the existing headquarters agreements between the UN and its host state, we urge for this decision to be reconsidered.
(August 30, 2025)
Q. Can you point to one concrete step regarding Israel that the countries actually agreed on today. After today‘s meeting, do you expect a more unified EU putting pressure on Israel and taking concrete steps?
First, we had an informal Council, so that means that we actually do not adopt decisions here, but we really have the political debates on where is the room. So, no decisions today.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, has warned that Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, calling it a threat to international security.
(June 18, 2025)
The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva, a German diplomatic source told Reuters.
The ministers will first meet with the European Union‘s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, at Germany‘s permanent mission in Geneva before holding a joint meeting with the Iranian foreign minister, the source said.
Dear President,
Honourable Members,
What was also clear from todayâs meeting is that we will not let this new crisis overshadow what is happening in Gaza.
We are now 20 months into a conflict triggered by the horrific attacks of Hamas.
Israel has a right to defend itself. And Hamas should immediately release the remaining hostages. But Israelâs use of force in Gaza, the continuing deaths of civilians, and the targeting of civilian infrastructure go beyond self-defence.
Israelâs actions cannot be justified under humanitarian and international law.
At the last Foreign Affairs Council in May, it was clear that a majority of Member States were in favour of opening a review of Israelâs compliance with Article 2 of our Association Agreement.
Article 2 imposes binding obligations on the parties to observe human rights.
This review is now underway and I will present the outcome to the Foreign Ministers on Monday.
The EU is currently reviewing its Association Agreement with Israel, a deal governing trade and political relations, after a request from the majority of member countries. Kallas is due to report on the process of the review on Monday.
(…)
Some EU lawmakers reprimanded Kallas for not using the term âgenocideâ to describe what Israel has done in Gaza. âYouâre refusing deliberately to use this term, Ms. Kallas,â The Left co-chair Manon Aubry said. âWe should act, protect, sanction, and get away from your complicity because you are complicit.â
(May 8, 2025)
Ties between the EU and Israel â which are major trading partners â are governed by a so-called Association Agreement. It stipulates that their ties âshall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles.â
The Dutch government has said that it intends to block the agreement pending an EU review into whether the Israel government is complying with the pact, which entered force in 2000. Kallas said the ministers would discuss this on May 20.
âItâs only natural for Israel to expect European support,â he said, according to The Times of Israel.
Saar framed Israelâs war as a global battle, lumping Iran, the Houthis, Hamas, and Hezbollah together as enemies of the West. âThey attack us because we are nearby,â he claimed.
âBut make no mistake, the war is against Western civilisationâagainst its values and its way of life.â
In a significant development, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced that the bloc‘s top diplomat for Syria will head to Damascus on Monday to initiate contact with the new Syrian government.
(June 14, 2023)
The hope in the push is that once Ukraine is a full member of the alliance, Russia would not dare to try to topple the government in Kyiv because an attack on one NATO country is considered an attack on them all. Ukrainian membership has become a âconsuming debate,â both in Europe and inside the Biden administration, according to one senior U.S. official who is deeply involved in the discussions.
Only Germany has sided fully with Mr. Biden, though some of the other 29 allies have their own quiet doubts about Ukraineâs readiness to fully join the alliance â and the risks that NATO nations could get sucked directly into a conflict with Russia in the future.
Officials from the Baltic states blamed Russia and claimed that Poland should invoke NATOâs Article 5 in retaliation. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky accused Russia of âterrorismâ and said NATO needed to âactâ against this âattack on collective security.â