European Union

Ahead of the EU foreign affairs ministers meeting on Monday, Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s Policy Lead in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Gaza, said:  

“This fragile ceasefire is a start, but it is not the solution. For families in Gaza, words on paper mean very little unless aid reaches them, and not in symbolic trickles. What happens next and how the EU responds will be a defining test of Europe’s moral compass and political credibility. The EU cannot roll over into a policy of appeasement or take its leverage off the table. It cannot be a payer without being a player. Europe must use every diplomatic and political tool it has to rebuild lives and restore rights, or it risks being remembered as a bystander to realpolitik rather than a broker of principled peace.”   

This report highlights how foreign states and corporations, through ongoing trade with illegal settlements, directly enable the humanitarian crisis driven by Israel’s prolonged occupation.

On June 27, African and European agriculture ministers will gather in Rome for the 6th AU-EU Agriculture Ministerial Conference. This comes against a backdrop of a worsening climate crisis, soaring inequalities, and rising hunger. Nearly one in five people in Africa - close to 300 million - now face food insecurity. The stakes could not be higher. The decisions made in Rome could lay the foundations for food systems that are just, sustainable and deeply rooted in communities. A far cry from the current emphasis on an industrial, export-led agricultural system dominated by large corporations.

Today, EU Foreign Policy Chief, Kaja Kallas, presented a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement at the meeting of EU Foreign Affairs Ministers. In response, Agnes Bertrand Sanz, Oxfam Humanitarian Expert, said:   “There are moments in history where delay and distraction are not neutral, it is a decision. While EU ministers continue to debate and defer, entire families in Gaza are being buried under rubble and people are being killed while trying to get food.  

Ahead of the EU foreign affairs ministers' meeting to discuss the EU-Israel Association Agreement, Agnes Bertrand Sanz, Oxfam Humanitarian Expert, said: “The cost of inaction is measured in lives. Oxfam and partners see firsthand the unspeakable toll in Gaza: homes flattened, hospitals destroyed and looming famine. No one should live in this constant fear, not knowing if today will be the day they die. There is no time for more debate and no room for passing the buck. It is time for leadership and decisive action. Europe must ask itself: does it want to be complicit in these atrocities?” 

As you prepare to meet in Luxembourg on 20 June, we urge you to consider a matter of growing importance: the urgent need to establish new, fair, and sustainable resources for the European Union.

In reaction to the recent announcement that the EU will review the EU-Israel Association Agreement, Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s Policy lead in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Gaza: “Let’s be clear: it is a welcome step, but far too little and too late. For months upon months, the people of Gaza have endured unimaginable suffering. Entire families erased. Homes, hospitals and schools reduced to rubble.

International development cooperation has consistently been an integral component of the European Union's foreign policy. Like diplomacy, development cooperation is a means to foster stability, security and prosperity for all in an increasingly interconnected world. The COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis and the ripple effects of Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine have underscored our global interdependence and the imperative for international collaboration, investment, and partnerships that promote equitable development globally while safeguarding the long-term interests of the EU and its citizens.