Spain urges EU to recognise Palestinian statehood without delay

7 months ago 29

All EU members should recognise Palestinian statehood in a coordinated manner without delay, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said on Monday, suggesting this as the best way to put an end to the conflict and prevent the war from spreading throughout the entire region.

In an interview aired by the Spanish public radio and television (RTVE), Albares (PSOE/S&D) reiterated that the only way to achieve lasting peace in the long-running conflict in the Middle East is “the two-state solution”, that of Israel and the future “Palestinian state”, Euractiv’s partner EFE reported.

After the drone and missile attacks launched by Iran against Israel on Saturday, it is now more necessary than ever for EU countries that have not yet recognised the Palestinian state to waste no time in doing so as soon as possible, the minister stressed.

“The situation is urgent and serious, and it is necessary to take this decision [to recognise the Palestinian state] in the short term”, Albares told RTVE.

Ireland, Malta, and Slovenia also announced on 22 March that they were ready to recognise the state of Palestine as the “only way to achieve peace and security” in the war-torn region.

Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden are the nine EU member states currently recognising the Palestinian state.

A few days ago, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (PSOE/S&D) announced that Spain could unilaterally recognise the ‘Palestinian state’ this summer and expressed his confidence that other EU partners would follow suit.

On the other hand, Albares recalled on Monday that the EU’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, had convened all EU foreign ministers for Tuesday in an attempt to adopt a common European position on the crisis.

He expressed confidence that this would be the “last time we have to see this spiral of violence” and insisted that “we all know what the solution is: the two-state solution (Israel and Palestine)”.

In the minister’s view, “there are still days in which we have to be vigilant and do everything possible to avoid an escalation”.

“We (the Spanish government) have been talking for months with all our Arab friends, with our European partners and allies”, Albares added.

The minister also confirmed that Sánchez “will continue” with his round of contacts and trips to European countries to gather support for the recognition of the “Palestinian state” as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, on Monday, newly appointed Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro told Sánchez at a meeting that Lisbon is not ready yet to recognise Palestine without a joint EU approach.

(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.Euractiv.es)