On Tuesday, foreign ministers of European Union Member States met in Brussels to discuss the next steps in the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Extreme proposals, such as a complete suspension of the agreement, political dialogue and trade sanctions, were also proposed before the meeting. However, it was clear from the outset that there is no real support among Member States for such measures. Nevertheless, Slovenia, under the leadership of its Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Tanja Fajon, was once again coming to the fore with an anti-Israel drive – which has no real effect and serves mainly the domestic public.
Tanja Fajon arrived at the meeting with a statement that was intended only for the microphone of the depoliticised Slovenian media houses Radio-Television Slovenia (RTVS) and the Slovenian Press Agency (STA). Her views were strongly directed against Israel: “Israel is violating Article 2 of the Association Agreement, it is violating international law, it is violating humanitarian law, and the murder in Gaza continues. The European Union must use all possible measures at its disposal.”
But the rhetoric cannot hide the void behind the scenes. While Fajon announced support for all possible measures – from trade sanctions to an arms embargo – there was no sign that such proposals had any real chance of success. Indeed, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, has already stressed that the EU is focused on implementing the humanitarian deal with Israel, which should lead to more aid for Gaza. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar was even more direct – according to him, none of the proposed measures against Israel would be adopted on Tuesday.
Fajon is preparing national measures against Israel
Nevertheless, Fajon continued with her show, stressing Slovenia’s “clear position”, supporting “all the measures on the table” and pointing out that Slovenia is also preparing for “national measures” if the measures would not be adopted at the European Union level. But despite all the drama coming out of Slovenia, it is very likely that no concrete action against Israel will be adopted at the meeting in question. Commenting on the developments, international lawyer Dr Miha Pogačnik said wryly: “In Israel, they are trembling with fear, because supposedly, Slovenia is going to send its mighty ‘armata vis’ over Israel. This is crazy.”
When asked what measures Slovenia has in place if the EU does not act, Tanja Fajon said, “In Slovenia, we are preparing – through all the relevant ministries – and thinking about what can be done: through trade sanctions, we are trying to figure out what are these national measures. We are preparing them, of course. But let us first wait for the day to pass and see what the European Union will do. My appeal will be very clear: Slovenia’s position is that the European Union has a duty to act – to make use of all the possible sets of measures that are available.”
A two-state solution?
Fajon also stressed that all the measures are being prepared with the intention of “getting to a ceasefire on the ground as soon as possible, to stop the violence and to start talking seriously about a two-state solution.” Security expert Boštjan Perne warned that the idea of two states is an empty phrase for Hamas. Responding to a post on X that showed a map without Israel on it – with Palestine in its place, as a single country – he wrote: “This is exactly the position of the Palestinians. All of Israel is Arab. Israelis have no right to exist. If they had enough military power, they would wipe out every last one of them.”
The meeting in Brussels is likely to pass without any concrete decisions. All that remains is another diplomatic spectacle for the domestic audience.
Sara Kovač
