EU may slap sanctions on Israel, says Spain
ROME, April 7: Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique said on Sunday the EU could impose sanctions on Israel if it refuses to withdraw its troops from Palestinian territory.
“It’s a possible scenario, but we have to discuss” it, Pique told a group of journalists in Venice, where he was attending the Aspen European Dialogue conference.
“Some countries are in favour... of sanctions very soon, some others are more reluctant, so we have to discuss it,” he added.
“The question is very very complex. But the most important thing, is to concentrate our efforts on obtaining a ceasefire with the Palestinian side stopping terrorist attacks.”
Pique also confirmed UN Secretary General Kofi Annan would attend a meeting on the Middle East crisis in Madrid on Wednesday with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
The statement from Pique — whose country holds the rotating EU presidency — marked the first time the European Union has openly considered imposing sanctions on Israel over the current crisis in the Middle East.
RECIPE FOR PEACE: European Commission President Romano Prodi said on Sunday the only recipe for peace in the Middle East was for the United States, Europe, Russia and moderate Arab nations to hold talks with United Nations.
“Anyone who wants to impose his own viewpoint, separate from the international community, will never have peace,” Romano Prodi said in a radio interview.
“The European Union and civil society can do less than they did to resolve the Balkan crisis because the Israelis do not accept Europe as an interlocutor and want only one mediator, the United States,” he added.
Mr Prodi’s statement repeated almost verbatim a call by the EC in a document published on Saturday, which said: “We need around one table the United States, European Union, United Nations, Russia, moderate Arab states, Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
“We can’t get out of this situation with any other, partial solutions,” the document added.—AFP